How blockchain technology is helping businesses overcome the Covid-19 outbreak in China

Living with a global virus outbreak is hard, but with perseverance and a lot of creativity, Chinese technology companies are showing how daily life can be close to normal as it can be thanks to the massive adoption of digital technology in various sectors.

We’ve seen millions of workers using mobile tools, such as Alibaba’s “DingTalk” for online workplace collaboration, which enables them to work from home efficiently. Online orders for food and daily necessities also spiked, as China’s online grocers have been stepping up to the plate amid the outbreak when the willingness to travel outside has reduced sharply.

While digital technology has greatly improved the quality of daily life in China – witnessed by the people living in the country, newer forms of innovative technology such as blockchain is also increasingly playing an important role in coping with the epidemic during these times of Covid-19.

Blockchain technology helping overcome Covid-19 outbreak in China

For example, Alipay, the world’s leading payments and lifestyle platform owned by Ant Financial Services Group, has launched a blockchain-powered online information platform for epidemic prevention materials in Zhejiang Province, ensuring the logistics and usage of materials such as face masks and protective clothing more transparent. Alipay has also launched a blockchain-powered program for developers working on epidemic mini programs on the platform.

Ant Duo-Chain, a blockchain-powered supply chain finance platform developed by Ant Financial, is helping many small and medium-sized suppliers to apply for loans from banks based on their receivables from large enterprises. The platform helps them deal with potential financial constraints during this epidemic. For example, Guangzhou Wubiao, an import and export trading company, recently received loans amounting to 2 million-yuan with its receivables from e-commerce platform 1919.com.

In China’s Gansu Province, Ant Financial has also launched a blockchain-powered online bid opening system, enabling SMEs to participate in contactless bidding remotely during the outbreak. Ant Financials’ consortium blockchain technology ensures the materials and processes of the bid openings are tamper proof, ensuring that contactless bidding can also be transparent and trustworthy.

China’s enterprise blockchain spending will hit US$2 billion in 2023, according to a forecast by market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), as the country embarks on a push for blockchain development to solve real-life problems. Banking sector tops blockchain spending in China, while other sectors including manufacturing, retail, professional services and process manufacturing are also preparing to deploy the new technology.

In recent weeks, several Chinese companies and institutions have also leveraged blockchain technology for dealing with Covid-19.

For instance, blockchain technology is being used to ensure frontline medical workers in Hubei Province are getting the donations of face masks, medical materials, and cash that they badly need through a new blockchain-based donation tracking platform Shanzong, initiated by start-up Hyperchain and China Xiong’an Group.

While some local Chinese telecom operators have released blockchain-backed platforms to help companies resume operations effectively, social community workers in Shanghai are using a blockchain-backed system developed by Tongji University to ensure smooth personnel flows within the community during the epidemic times.

A supply-chain financial service platform, targeting small and medium-sized enterprises in Beijing, has provided loans with interest-subsidies to companies hit by the Covid-19 by deploying blockchain technology to ensure credit-worthiness of borrowers in a faster manner. On February 14, the platform completed its first business since establishment, which granted loans of 440,000 yuan to an online education firm to counter the adverse effects of the virus outbreak, according to local news reports.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has brought big disruption and inconveniences to the lives of people in China as well as around the world. But the adoption of innovative technologies including blockchain, have gone some way to helping ease the pain by making it easier especially for small business and individuals to cope with the negative impact.

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