China: Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to Use Blockchain for Electronic Tax Invoices

Shenzhen, a major city in the Guangdong Province and the first economic special zone in  China, will use blockchain technology for electronic tax invoices. This development was reported by the China Economic Net, а domestic news website focusing on economics, on Dec. 12.

The Shenzhen Municipal Taxation Bureau and Chinese tech giant Tencent have “successfully connected the blockchain invoice system with the WeChat payment platform.” The article reports that WeChat, the 1 billion user social media platform operated by Tencent, has opened its payment platform for the blockchain invoice function.

According to the director of the Information Center of Shenzhen Taxation Bureau, a blockchain electronic invoice is different from a traditional electronic invoice, as it has “the advantages of ‘distributed’ storage, traceability and non-tamperability.”

The article highlights that WeChat payment blockchain invoices are the first stop for the blockchain electronic invoice implemented within the mobile payment platform, adding:

“The application of the blockchain electronic invoice to the WeChat payment platform is a substantial exploration made by the Shenzhen Tax Department based on the actual needs of the taxpayers to further optimize the business environment.”

Previously this fall, the Shenzhen central sub-branch of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) — the country’s central bank — launched the trial phase of the “Bay Area Trade Finance Blockchain Platform,” aimed at providing real-time monitoring of various financial activities, as Cointelegraph reported Sep. 4.

Last week, the BeiShangGuang — an abbreviation that stands for the three major Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou — has reportedly become China’s most concentrated area of legislation and policy related to the blockchain industry.