When it comes to Bitcoin, if there is a country that is betting on the blockchain to implement a cryptocurrency, it is, of course, China. The Asian giant began to roll out its official DCEP cryptocurrency in April this year with the help of four banks in the country. Now that the tests are progressing successfully, they are preparing to distribute it and make it operational in more cities in the country and developed areas.
Until now, the Chinese digital currency pilot program was minimally present and still without a clear timeline. Things are going to change soon. According to WSJ, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has announced that it will expand the cryptocurrency trial to the country’s large cities.
They started with four cities (Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou, Xiong’an) and the area related to the 2022 Winter Olympics. Then the program will expand to the northern part of the country covering Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province; also, the cities of the Yangtze River Delta and those of the Pearl River Delta. The latter includes Shenzhen, as mentioned earlier, Hong Kong, and Macao. They advise that cities in central and western China will also be able to participate in the testing program if they meet certain conditions.
With this announcement, China seeks expansion of its digital currency, essentially, to all areas with the most significant economic impact in the country. For this, it has the help of the four large banks in the country and also with large companies that are joining the initiative, including Didi Chuxing, the Uber-style transport company in China.
A long-term plan
In the statement of the Ministry of Commerce, they indicated that it aims to adapt “to the profound and complex changes in the national and international environment.” These are not randomly spoken words. The uprising tense atmosphere between China and the United States reflects a possible future in which sanctions by the United States will be more severe in China.
Of all these sanctions, one that can make full damage is that they are excluded from the international financial system, where the US dollar is the predominant exchange currency. If the digital currency DCEP is going to be China’s salvation in such a scenario, it will have to be seen, although they are preparing for it later.
China is one of the countries where mobile and digital payments predominate in general. Implementing a digital currency should not be complicated. On the other hand, they have been working on this system since 2014.
The digital currency pilot program will cover much of China’s most prosperous and wealthy regions; the Commerce Ministry said Friday: the capital Beijing and nearby Tianjin and Hebei province in the north; the Yangtze River Delta to the south; and, along China’s wealthy southern coast bill be highly benefited with this new approach to a more advanced economy.
By Jenson Nuñez
