Blockchain-based network facilitates 1t yuan in shipping and trade

China's blockchain-based infrastructure for maritime trade has supported more than 300,000 enterprises in offshore commerce, commodity transactions, and related activities across the Yangtze River Delta.

The system has facilitated transactions exceeding 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion), according to the Seaborn Trade Digitalization Collaboration Innovation Alliance.

Established in 2023, the alliance brings together centrally administered State-owned enterprises, major financial institutions, and leaders in digital transformation within the maritime trade sector.

Founding members include China Baowu Steel Group, China COSCO Shipping Group, China Merchants Group, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, and the People's Insurance Company of China.

Additional contributors comprise Shanghai International Port Group, Shanghai Data Group, and the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center.

Since its founding, the alliance has focused on reducing costs in port operations, logistics, and financial services by deploying blockchain technology as core data infrastructure.

This blockchain-based network recently enabled the offshore trade service platform in the Zhoushan area in the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone to achieve full data connectivity with the Shanghai Cross-Border E-Commerce Platform.

Through this integration, the Zhoushan platform now has access to global data on shipping, ports, and air logistics, substantially strengthening its ability to verify the authenticity of offshore trade documents. As a result, the time required for document verification has been reduced from two days to less than 30 minutes.

In a parallel effort, Shanghai Bulk Commodity Warehouse Receipt Registration and the Zhejiang Mercantile Exchange initiated a collaboration in June to advance unified registration, digital supervision, the integration of futures and spot markets, and closer alignment between industry and finance in bulk commodities.

Alliance members are also working to integrate bulk commodity trade data into the blockchain network, thereby enhancing efficiency across various sectors. In the oil and gas trade, for example, document processing time has dropped from two to six hours down to just under 10 minutes.