"China to introduce blockchain into SME credit scoring…investing 400 billion yuan a year"

Minseung Kang

Summary

Chinese authorities are reported to be accelerating the adoption of blockchain and privacy computing to overhaul the credit assessment system for SMEs.
The policy applies blockchain to the data-sharing structure between the government and banks and builds a tax data-based credit evaluation system to reduce document tampering.
China is investing about 400 billion yuan a year to build related infrastructure and is restructuring financial infrastructure by converting the digital yuan (e-CNY) into an interest-bearing deposit format.

Forecast Trend Report by Period

Chinese authorities are stepping up the adoption of blockchain and privacy computing as they overhaul the credit assessment framework for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to CoinDesk, a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet, China’s State Taxation Administration and the National Financial Regulatory Administration instructed, via a joint guideline, that blockchain technology be applied to the data-sharing architecture between the government and banks. The move is aimed at improving SMEs’ access to credit.

At the center of the initiative is the creation of a credit evaluation system based on tax data. Previously, financial institutions struggled to sufficiently verify companies’ financial conditions, while firms faced the burden of submitting sensitive information directly. Under the new structure, privacy computing is used to enable analysis without exposing raw data.

Blockchain is being used not as a transaction asset but as a record-management tool. In particular, the focus is on reducing document tampering—such as forged electronic invoices—long cited as a key problem in the lending market.

The policy is being advanced on the basis of existing laws and institutions. Financial data rules that took effect in 2024 and the Cybersecurity Law revised this year require financial institutions to build data-protection frameworks, and authorities are expanding technology adoption on that foundation. China is reportedly investing about 400 billion yuan annually to build the relevant infrastructure.

The digital yuan (e-CNY) is also being linked to the effort. Starting this year, digital yuan balances were converted into an interest-bearing deposit format, and the number of participating banks expanded from 10 to 22. This is interpreted as part of a strategy to restructure the broader financial infrastructure by combining it with a blockchain-based credit system.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong appears to be moderating the pace even as it pursues a similar policy direction. The introduction of a stablecoin licensing regime, initially targeted for March this year, has been delayed, and authorities are taking a stability-first approach by limiting the scale of initial approvals.