Chinese Government Partners With Alipay and Ant Financial To Curb Food Fraud

According to a new report, the municipal government of Wuchang, a region located in the north-east of North-east of China, and is known for the production of quality rice, has partnered with Alipay and Ant Financial to track the production of rice in the region using Digital Ledger Technology (DLT).

Due to the supply of adulterated rice in the region, which has been of significant concern to the local government, farmers, and consumers of rice, the government has taken this huge step to curb the inflow of substandard rice into the market.  

Valid from 30th September, all locally produced rice in the region, sold on Alibaba flagship store, “Tmall platform,” will be given a QR code, which can be scanned using the QR code scanner available on Alipay app. This will help consumers and the government to obtain reliable information about the product such as the name and location of the manufacturer, etc.

High Hopes For Cryptocurrency In China

This move seems interesting considering the progress made by Alipay and other online platforms in China such as Baidu, and Wechat to ban all cryptocurrency transaction on their platforms in line with the Chinese government strict regulations on digital currency. The payment platform had issued out a stern warning to its users, stating that any account that is involved in cryptocurrency transactions will be shut down.  

Considering the Wuchang government partnership with Alipay and Ant financial in adopting DLT to track legally produced rice in the region, it is only a matter of time before the Chinese government revisits the stiff regulation placed on digital currency in the country. This move could mean that cryptocurrency transactions will once again be conducted just the way it has always been.