A Chinese government body is considering creating national standards to boost the development of blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the country.

According to an announcement released yesterday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has already, as a first step, hosted a research seminar recently to discuss how such standards frameworks might be built.

The effort, proposed by the China Electronics Standardization Institute under the guidance of the ministry, now aims to form a committee to lead the effort

The ministry indicated that, currently, major international standards organizations in China have already been weighing in on the topic of DLT, signaling the country’s dedication to keeping the country ahead of the curve with blockchain technology.

While China is already participating in the TC 307 commission under the International Organization for Standardization, which focuses on framework for blockchain use in authentication and smart contracts, the IT agency said it is now eying the country’s own dedicated initiative.

The plan is also in line with China’s positive public stance on blockchain adoption, even though authorities have clamped down cryptocurrency-related investment activities including initial coin offerings and trading over the last year.

The announcement comes just days after China’s biggest annual political conference, which saw various policy advisors proposing that the nation should form guidance and regulations to ease the development of blockchain technology.

China flag image via Shutterstock