The programme is aimed at “sufficiently letting the blockchain technology play its role in facilitating data sharing, optimising business procedures, lowering costs, improving synergy and building reliable systems,” the Cyberspace Administration said in a statement today.

The chosen cities include capital Beijing, Guangzhou in the south and Guiyang in the southwest. They will conduct the trial in a “comprehensive” manner while others will focus on specific areas such as manufacturing, energy, legal affairs, copyright, cross-border financing, education and healthcare, the authority said.

Blockchain-related infrastructure will be consolidated and deployed in a balanced way in the areas involved in the trial to form data-exchange capabilities on a large scale that meet the demand for production purposes, according to the statement.

Entities involved in the programme are encouraged to use blockchain-related hardware products and software that are “inter-operable” and “sustainable”, it added.