China's Former Minister of Finance Calls Crypto a 'Crucial Aspect' of Digital Economy

• China's former minister of finance, Zhu Guangyao, has called on Beijing to pay more attention to the crypto markets in a speech at a summit hosted by Tsinghua University.
• Zhu also said that the government must recognize the risks and harm crypto poses to capital markets.

China's former minister of finance, Zhu Guangyao, said at a forum hosted by Tsinghua University that the government should study crypto more closely, given remarks made on the U.S. campaign trail.

Crypto "has negative impacts, and we must fully recognize its risks and the harm it poses to capital markets," Sina News quoted him as saying. "However, we must also study the latest international changes and policy adjustments, as it is a crucial aspect of digital economy development."

Sina reports that Zhu pointed directly at Republican Candidate Donald Trump's remarks as a need for further action by Beijing.

At the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville in July, Trump said that the U.S. must embrace the crypto industry fully, or "China will do it."

Crypto, he said at the time, is "the steel industry of 100 years ago. You're just in your infancy. One day, it probably will overtake gold. There's never been anything like it."

Zhu also noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) despite initial opposition.

While mainland China remains cautious on crypto, Hong Kong – which maintains a semi-autonomous system of government and market regulations – has embraced it, listing bitcoin and ether ETFs, while some members of its mini-legislature actively court the industry to open up shop in the city.