China wants to be the world leader in blockchain, AI and Internet of Things

China’s president Xi Jinping has highlighted blockchain, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things as examples of technologies where he wants the Asian economic powerhouse to lift its game.

“A new generation of technology represented by artificial intelligence, quantum information, mobile communications, internet of things and blockchain is accelerating breakthrough applications,” President Xi Jinping said at a science conference this week, according to a Google translation.

China has a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges and Initial Coin Offerings — but has been bullish on the underlying “blockchain” technology which is an increasingly popular way to secure digital transactions.

China identified blockchain as a priority as far back as 2016, when it was written into the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan.

>> Scroll down for list of ASX stocks that offer exposure to blockchain

China’s People’s Daily newspaper has even started a dedicated section to covering news of blockchain.

“According to the US World Intellectual Property Patent Organisation, more than half of the world’s blockchain patent applications came from China last year,” the People’s Daily reported this week.

The People’s Daily — China’s biggest newspaper group — is the mouth piece of the Communist Party.

In a speech earlier this week at an annual academic conference hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President Xi Jinping emphasised the need for China to focus on technological development to become a global centre of science and innovation.

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President Xi Jinping also highlighted life sciences areas such “synthetic biology, gene editing, brain science and regenerative medicine”.

He told the audience there were “still some outstanding problems that need to be resolved urgently in the science and technology field in our country”, according to a Google translation.

There were “many problems in China’s science and technology in terms of field of vision, innovation capability, resource allocation, and institutional policies.

“Enterprises do not pay enough attention to basic research” and “major original results are lacking,” he said.

“If China is to flourish and rejuvenate, it must vigorously develop science and technology and strive to become the world’s major scientific center and innovative highland.

“We are closer to the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than at any time in history.

“We need to build a powerful world of science and technology more than any other time in history.”

Earlier this week Google Australia’s boss Jason Pellegrino warned Australian business this week they needed to lift their investment in technology such as Artificial Intelligence or risk getting left behind.

You can read President Xi Jinping’s the full speech here using with Google Translate.

Here’s a list of ASX stocks that offer exposure to blockchain: