Chinese officials pedge support for Hong Kong's Web3 push - PingWest

Chinese officials pedge support for Hong Kong's Web3 push

Chinese officials pedge support for Hong Kong's Web3 push

April 14, 2023 8:05 pm

Mainland Chinese officials for the first-time praised Hong Kong’s ambitions to become a Web3 hub.

Cao Shumin, deputy director at the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), Beijing's internet watchdog, said on Thursday at the city's Digital Economy Summit 2023 that Hong Kong should actively plan its development in cutting-edge technologies like semiconductors, quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain.

Cao also said that Hong Kong strive for the digital transformation of established industries, keep up its technological integration with the Greater Bay Area, encourage the sharing and commercial application of data, and have more extensive and direct discussions with the rest of the world.

Despite the ongoing crypto winter, which has affected many businesses in the greater Web3 space, Hong Kong has suggested a number of measures to grow the virtual assets sector and promote the city as a global cryptocurrency powerhouse.

The actions include millions of dollars of funding to assist the development of the Web3 ecosystem, tokenizing green bonds, establishing a new licensing framework for virtual asset providers, and enabling cryptocurrency trading by retail investors.

On February 20, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong revealed its proposed rules for trading platforms for virtual assets. The plan advises that all centralized cryptocurrency trading platforms operating in Hong Kong be forced to acquire a license from the regulatory agency and outlines a new licensing framework for the industry.

The Institute of Web 3.0 Hong Kong, led by former Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Norman Chan, was founded in the city earlier this week. Members of the founding association include China Mobile, China Merchants Energy Shipping, Huawei Technologies, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

This week also sees Hong Kong play host to the Web3 Festival, one of the biggest blockchain-related conferences since the city lifted its Covid-19 restrictions.

Separately, officials from Hangzhou and Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) also signed MOU on Web3 industry collaboration during the Web3 Festival this week.

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