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A research institute focusing on blockchain technology is launched in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province on April 8. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Jiaxing in East China's Zhejiang province announced the establishment of a research institute focusing on blockchain technology on April 8, in a bid to boost digital economy.

The city government joined hands with Turing Award winner Whitfield Diffie, Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University in Zhejiang and Jiaxing Science City to develop and operate the new institute.

Diffie is a world-renowned cryptographer and a pioneer in public-key cryptography who shared the 2015 Turing Award, the most prestigious award in the field of computer science, with Martin Hellman for their groundbreaking contributions to public-key cryptography and digital signatures. He will head the research team at the new institute.

Whitfield Diffie, a prestigious cryptographer and winner of the 2015 Turing Award, delivers a speech at the launching ceremony of the new institute in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province on April 8. Diffie's team will play a crucial role at the institute. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

In the future, the institute will carry out research into cyber security, artificial intelligence and internet of things, and will provide technological services and training with the aim of becoming an important center of blockchain technology within the Yangtze River Delta region.

The institute's research findings are expected to be applied in various fields, including the credit system, healthcare and philanthropy.

Whitfield Diffie and his Chinese partners visit the new research institute focusing on blockchain technology in Jiaxing, Zhejiang on April 8. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The new institute was largely made possible due to the "Overseas Incubators" program implemented by the Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University. Since it was established in Jiaxing 15 years ago, the research branch of the university has formed a global network for talent recruitment and has constructed eight incubators abroad to cultivate new growth drivers for Jiaxing's economy.