The 15th Five-Year Plan: Where are the opportunities for digital assets?

# Digital Assets in the 15th Five-Year Plan: Policy Opportunities, Development Directions, and Implementation Paths

By Zhang Feng

The "Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" (hereinafter referred to as the "Recommendations") was adopted in October 2025, systematically mapping out the blueprint for national development over the next five years. In the process of comprehensively advancing Chinese-style modernization, the construction of a "Digital China" has been accorded an important strategic position. Key tasks such as "further advancing the construction of Digital China", "improving the basic systems for data factors", and "building an open, shared, and secure national integrated data market" have been clearly proposed. Against this backdrop, the development and utilization of digital assets are embracing unprecedented policy opportunities and development space.

## I. Marketization of Data Factors: Building the Institutional Foundation for Digital Asset Development and Utilization

The Recommendations explicitly propose to "improve the basic systems for data factors" and emphasize "building an open, shared, and secure national integrated data market". This means that over the next five years, China will accelerate the marketization, legalization, and standardization of data factors, laying a solid institutional foundation for the development and utilization of digital assets.

The confirmation of rights and circulation mechanisms for data resources will be gradually improved. The Recommendations put forward "deepening the development and utilization of data resources" and emphasize "improving property rights protection". In the future, the state will promote the construction of systems such as data property rights definition, data classification and grading, and data transaction rules, transforming data resources from a "dormant" state into tradable and value-added digital assets. Enterprises should focus on the construction of data asset registration, evaluation, and transaction platforms, and actively participate in pilot projects of the data factor market.

Opportunities arise for the integrated development of public data and social data. The Recommendations propose "promoting the integrated sharing of government affairs data, public data, and social data". In fields such as healthcare, transportation, environmental protection, and urban governance, the government will promote data opening and sharing, providing enterprises with abundant sources of digital assets. Enterprises with data cleaning, modeling, and analysis capabilities will take the lead in data value-added services.

Data security and privacy protection have become prerequisites for development. The Recommendations emphasize "strengthening the construction of national security capabilities in emerging fields such as cyberspace, data, and artificial intelligence". In the process of data development and utilization, compliance and security will become thresholds for enterprises to participate in market competition. Technologies such as privacy-preserving computation, blockchain, and data desensitization will play key roles in the process of data assetization.

## II. Smart Contracts and Blockchain: Promoting Automation and Trustworthiness of Digital Assets

Although the Recommendations do not directly mention "blockchain" or "smart contracts", its statements such as "accelerating the innovation of digital intelligence technologies such as artificial intelligence" and "improving supervision" provide policy space for the implementation and application of smart contracts.

Smart contracts will take the lead in landing in government affairs and financial fields. In areas such as government services, supply chain finance, and intellectual property protection, smart contracts can realize the automation, transparency, and immutability of business processes. For example, in scenarios such as government procurement, land registration, and copyright transactions, smart contracts can effectively improve efficiency and reduce dispute risks.

Blockchain + Digital Identity to build a trusted digital ecosystem. The Recommendations propose "promoting the construction of a law-based society" and "creating a sound social environment where the rule of law is advocated, rules are abided by, contracts are respected, and justice is maintained". The combination of blockchain technology and digital identity can establish a trusted digital identity system for individuals and enterprises, supporting the registration, transaction, and rights protection of digital assets.

Regulatory Technology (RegTech) and compliant smart contracts will emerge. With the development of the digital asset market, regulatory authorities will continuously raise requirements for anti-money laundering, anti-fraud, and data compliance. Smart contract systems with automatic compliance inspection capabilities will become a rigid demand for financial institutions and platform enterprises.

## III. Digital Asset Application Empowerment: From Finance to the Real Economy, From Consumption to Governance

The Recommendations clearly propose to "fully implement the 'Artificial Intelligence +' action", "lead the transformation of scientific research paradigms with artificial intelligence", and emphasize "promoting the in-depth integration of the real economy and the digital economy". As a key element of the digital economy, digital assets will play an empowering role in multiple fields.

Accelerated digitalization of financial assets. The Recommendations propose "steadily developing the digital renminbi" and "actively developing direct financing such as equity and bonds". In the future, the digital issuance, registration, and transaction of traditional financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and bills will be gradually popularized. The combination of digital renminbi and smart contracts can support the application of programmable money in scenarios such as directional payments and supply chain finance.

Digitalization of cultural assets and intellectual property rights. The Recommendations propose "accelerating the development of the cultural industry" and "promoting the systematic protection of cultural heritage". Digital collectibles (NFTs), digital copyrights, and digital cultural and creative products will usher in development opportunities. Cultural institutions and content creators can leverage blockchain technology to realize the assetization of digital content and copyright protection.

Digitalization of carbon assets and green finance. The Recommendations emphasize "accelerating the construction of a new energy system" and "actively and steadily advancing and achieving carbon peaking". The national carbon emissions trading market will expand its coverage, and the registration, transaction, and verification of carbon assets require the support of digital platforms. Blockchain technology can enhance the transparency and credibility of carbon data, facilitating the development of green finance.

Digitalization of urban governance and public services. The Recommendations propose "promoting the construction of public infrastructure for both emergency and daily use in cities" and "building innovative, livable, beautiful, resilient, civilized, and smart modern people's cities". Urban digital assets such as digital identity, digital property management, and digital transportation will play important roles in the construction of smart cities.

## IV. Construction of Technical Infrastructure: The Underlying Capabilities Supporting Digital Asset Development

In the section on "building a modern infrastructure system", the Recommendations explicitly propose to "construct new infrastructure in an appropriately advanced manner" and emphasize "promoting the construction and intensive and efficient utilization of information and communication networks, the national integrated computing power network, and major scientific and technological infrastructure".

Computing power networks and cloud computing facilities are the "soil" for digital assets. The construction of the national integrated computing power network will provide efficient and low-cost infrastructure for the storage, computing, and transaction of digital assets. Enterprises should pay attention to the layout of national computing power hub nodes and actively participate in major projects such as the "Eastern Data and Western Computing" project and edge computing.

Artificial intelligence and big data platforms are the "engines" for digital assets. The Recommendations propose "accelerating the innovation of digital intelligence technologies such as artificial intelligence". Advances in AI technology in data annotation, content generation, and risk identification will promote the intelligent development and management of digital assets.

Blockchain and distributed ledger technology are the "backbone" of digital assets. Although not directly named, goals such as "improving the basic systems for data factors" and "building an open, shared, and secure national integrated data market" cannot be achieved without the support of distributed ledger technology. Consortium chains, cross-chain technology, and zero-knowledge proofs will play key roles in data sharing and asset circulation.

## V. Challenges and Suggestions: How to Seize Digital Asset Opportunities During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period?

Despite significant policy dividends, the development of digital assets still faces multiple challenges such as technological maturity, laws and regulations, and market acceptance. Enterprises should layout from the following aspects:

Strengthen technological R&D and standard construction. Actively participate in the formulation of national and industry standards, and promote the integrated innovation of technologies such as blockchain, AI, and privacy-preserving computation.

Focus on compliance and risk prevention and control. Closely monitor developments in data security laws, cybersecurity laws, and digital asset regulatory policies, and establish a compliance management system.

Explore cross-border cooperation and ecological co-construction. Cooperate with governments, financial institutions, technology companies, and research institutions to jointly promote the implementation of digital assets in specific scenarios.

Cultivate professional talents in digital assets. Strengthen talent reserves in fields such as blockchain, data science, smart contracts, and compliance risk control.

The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical stage for China to basically realize socialist modernization. The development and utilization of digital assets will become an important force driving high-quality economic development, improving national governance capabilities, and promoting social progress. Under the guidance of the Recommendations, systematic breakthroughs will be made in the marketization of data factors, the application of smart contracts, the empowerment of the real economy by digital assets, and the construction of new digital infrastructure. Only by grasping policy directions, consolidating technical capabilities, and adhering to compliance bottom lines can enterprises seize opportunities in the new wave of digital assets and contribute digital strength to Chinese-style modernization.

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