China has designated some cities and entities to trial blockchain applications, underscoring the importance Beijing is attaching to this particular technology. In 2019, President Xi Jinping called on China to [“seize the opportunities”](//www.cnbc.com/2019/12/16/china-looks-to-become-blockchain-world-leader-with-xi-jinping-backing.html) presented by blockchain, giving his personal backing to the technology. The Chinese capital Beijing and mega city Shanghai as well as Guangzhou in the south are all part of the pilot projects. Local government departments, universities, banks, hospitals, car companies and power firms are among the 164 entities chosen by China to carry out trial blockchain applications. Blockchain originally referred to the technology that [underpinned the cryptocurrency…