China will lead an international research group on the standardization of the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technology, local news outlet Science and Technology Daily reports July 18.
The joint technical committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) have adopted the proposal for the creation of this international research group after a month of a discussion by committee members.
Science and Technology Daily, the official newspaper of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, writes that the creation of this group means China has won “discourse power” in technology integration:
“It is of great significance for China's related industries to lead global development and promote the integration of fiat and [the] digital economy.”
The international research group, chaired by Dr. Shen Jie, will promote fiat-digital integration by providing a large number of industrial application scenarios as well as establishing a working mechanism to promote international standardization for IoT and blockchain technologies.
The new research group will include experts from more than ten countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
China has recently taken steps forward in its adoption of blockchain technology. Last month, the Digital Currency Research Lab at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) filed a patent for a digital currency wallet that would allow users to track their transaction histories. Also in June, the PBoC had revealed a blockchain-powered system to digitize paper checks.
Earlier this week, Cointelegraph reported that the deputy director of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) had encouraged the country to “unite” forces to foster blockchain as a “core” technology for the new digital economy.