China Unveils Cryptography Research Center to Support Digital Yuan

China has opened a national institute to research how to use cryptography to secure the digital yuan, state-owned People's Daily reported on Wednesday.

• The research and development center will be located in Jinan, a city in Shandong, a coastal province just east of Beijing.
• The opening ceremony included a speech from a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, Fan Yifei, as well as a representative from telecommunications equipment maker Huawei.
• A Shandong official, Wang Xiaoyun, presented the province's blockchain-based education platform, as well as enterprise blockchains for government coordination, energy big data and supply chain finance.
• People's Daily said the central bank digital currency will contribute to China's financial and national security, on top of injecting innovation into the digital economy.
• China has been trying to beef up cybersecurity practices domestically since 2017, when it implemented the landmark Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China.
• A 2019 encryption law was controversial because it allowed the government to access commercial encrypted information.
• Trials for the digital yuan have been underway since spring of last year, with a major trial set to take place at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.