At the China Development Forum 2026 Annual Meeting held in Beijing from March 22 to 23, under the theme "China in the 15th Five-Year Plan Period: High-Quality Development and Co-creating New Opportunities," Zhang Baojiang, President of Bank of Communications, delivered a speech.

Drawing on the case study of the "Shipping and Trade Digital Chain" project involving Bank of Communications, Zhang Baojiang shared insights on leveraging blockchain technology to address three major challenges in international cross-border trade: information asymmetry, high trust costs, and multiple layers in the supply chain.

Zhang Baojiang elaborated on three key aspects of the project: First, utilizing data transparency to resolve trust issues. Documents, contracts, and logistics data are recorded on the blockchain for authentication. As noted, the advantage of blockchain lies in its immutable, tamper-proof nature and full traceability. By storing data on the chain and enabling end-to-end traceability, issues such as counterfeit or lost paper bills of lading are effectively mitigated, thereby resolving trust concerns. Second, employing process integration to tackle efficiency challenges. The entire workflow, including customs declaration, logistics, settlement, and financing, is moved online, achieving digitalization and automation. This significantly reduces document review time. For instance, the verification of authenticity for offshore trade documents, which previously took at least two days, can now be completed in 30 minutes. Similarly, document reviews for oil and gas transactions have been shortened from six hours to just 10 minutes, demonstrating how process integration enhances efficiency. Third, integrating stakeholders onto the chain to improve collaboration. Previously, ports, shipping, cargo, inspection, customs, and logistics operated in segmented silos, leading to frequent issues like port congestion, vehicle delays, and container backlogs. The "Shipping and Trade Digital Chain" now integrates commercial, logistics, and capital flows, ensuring seamless online operations. This model has gained strong recognition among import and export enterprises, with approximately 300,000 companies having joined the platform and transaction volumes reaching one trillion yuan.

Zhang Baojiang highlighted that, thanks to Shanghai's diverse application scenarios, this case represents just one application of blockchain technology in cross-border trade. In the future, it can be further extended to areas such as multimodal transport, bulk supply chain financing, letters of credit for shipping and trade, and innovative applications of digital yuan.

From this case, Zhang Baojiang derived three key insights: First, the critical importance of openness—without high-level opening-up, such innovations would lack the necessary environment. Second, the immense potential of integrating cutting-edge technologies to transform the logic of financial operations. Third, the necessity of adhering to the fundamental role of financial services in supporting the real economy—without the participation of market entities, financial innovation would lack rich application scenarios.