China's Blockchain Gambit: Driving Global Connectivity and Economic Supremacy

In an ongoing effort to expand its global footprint, China has announced a strategic partnership with Conflux Network to launch a "super-large-scale" blockchain infrastructure platform. This move aims to support cross-border cooperation and advance the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure project connecting China with other nations. Despite its hardline stance against cryptocurrency trading, China remains supportive of blockchain technology and Web3, with many citizens utilizing cryptocurrencies.

China's Ambitious Blockchain Gambit: Driving Global Connectivity and Economic Supremacy

In a strategic move that underscores its technological prowess and global ambitions, the Chinese government has embarked on a "super-large-scale" public blockchain infrastructure platform, leveraging the expertise of Conflux Network, a hybrid Proof-of-Stake blockchain. This groundbreaking initiative exemplifies China's embrace of blockchain technology and Web3, despite its hardline stance against cryptocurrency trading.

The Conflux Network-led project is a linchpin in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a colossal infrastructure undertaking that seeks to connect China with other nations across Asia, Africa, and Europe through a web of roads, railways, sea routes, airways, energy plants, and other transformative projects. The blockchain infrastructure platform will serve as a backbone for cross-border cooperation, facilitating economic, trade, and cultural applications.

China's Ministry of Science and Technology has actively supported the blockchain project, recognizing its potential to accelerate the BRI's goals. The project's cross-border focus is evident in its multi-country deployment capabilities, allowing participating entities to jointly supervise and drive economic growth.

This latest development comes amid China's ongoing ban on cryptocurrency trading, imposed in September 2021. Despite this restriction, the government continues to explore the development of NFT, Web3, and Metaverse markets. The use of stablecoin USDT in foreign exchange transactions remains tightly controlled, making it challenging for investors to access the cryptocurrency market.

BCI, BRICS, and the Digital Yuan: A Symphony of Economic and Technological Power

Beyond the BRI, China's strategic ambitions extend to the BRICS grouping and its national digital currency, the digital yuan. BRICS, initially comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded to include eleven member countries, who have been exploring the possibility of creating a common reserve currency to challenge the dominance of the US dollar.

Amidst growing tensions with the West, BRICS is actively working on alternative payment mechanisms that bypass the US dollar and SWIFT, a global network used for secure and rapid financial transactions. The US has previously employed SWIFT to impose sanctions on nations like Iran and Russia.

To this end, BRICS is contemplating a blockchain-based international payment system that will facilitate the implementation of the BRICS Pay digital system. Blockchain technology offers a secure and transparent platform for establishing a new payment system that is not controlled by any single entity or organization.

The decentralized multicurrency mechanism holds great promise for Russia in overcoming Western sanctions, enhancing BRICS's economic clout, and accelerating the emergence of a supranational currency. This development is widely seen as a potential challenge to the US dollar's global supremacy.

Speculation abounds regarding the potential adoption of Bitcoin or cryptocurrency within BRICS, but such possibilities remain unconfirmed. Nonetheless, China's participation in BRICS and BRI underscores its ambition to assert its economic power. China's early adoption of CBDC further cements its position as a technological innovator in the digital currency landscape.

A Vision of Global Connectivity and Economic Hegemony

China's blockchain initiatives and its involvement in BRICS reflect a broader vision of global connectivity and economic hegemony. The country's leadership sees advanced technologies, such as blockchain, as key instruments for achieving this goal. By promoting cross-border cooperation and fostering economic integration, China aims to reshape the global economic order and strengthen its own influence.

However, concerns have been raised regarding the potential implications of China's growing technological power. Critics argue that China's authoritarian tendencies could lead to the creation of a surveillance state that undermines individual freedoms and democratic values. Others express apprehension about China's potential monopoly on blockchain technology, which could stifle innovation and limit global economic opportunities.

As China continues to forge ahead with its blockchain ambitions and its role in BRICS, it remains to be seen how the world will respond to its technological and economic advancements. The potential benefits of enhanced connectivity and economic cooperation must be carefully weighed against the risks of centralized control and the erosion of individual liberties. The future trajectory of global blockchain development and its implications for global governance and economic power dynamics remain uncertain, but one thing is clear: China is determined to play a major role in shaping that future.