Many of China’s technology leaders are voicing their concerns on initial coin offerings while touting Blockchain’s potential as they discuss policy matters in Beijing as important People’s Representatives Congress.
Their rhetoric fell in line with recent news coverage by Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, People’s Daily.
Buzzword
Blockchain has become a buzzword in China this week as representatives of provinces, business, science and academic communities-some of them leaders of tech companies-gather in Beijing for National People’s Congress, weighing in on the nation’s policy decisions.
Tencent CEO Pony Ma said Blockchain is a good technology, but the company is not thinking about ICOs. Yao Jingbo, CEO of 58.com, an online classified marketplace, said the same.
Baidu’s CEO Li Yanhong focused more on artificial intelligence, an area in which China seems to be racing to surpass the US. Blockchain, while promising, he said, is still in its early stages.
While leader and regulators signal caution, Blockchain-related jobs are offered salary as high as artificial intelligence jobs in the country, about 25,800 yuan a month (almost $4,700), according to a recent report by BOSS Zhipin, an online job board.
The median monthly post-tax income for a Chinese living in urban areas is 2629 yuan, or $416, as of 2016.
Alex Dovbnya
Dan Burgin