China has applied for 4,435 blockchain patents so far, accounting for about half of the world's total, according to an industry report released on Monday.

The 2020 Blockchain Industry Development Report jointly compiled by Tsinghua University, Peking University and China Institute of Communications was issued at the 2020 China International Blockchain Technology and Application Conference in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province.

Blockchain is the core technology of the next-generation Internet with the characteristics of unforgeability, decentralization, openness and transparency, said Chen Xiaohong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

"The new generation of information technologies such as blockchain, big data, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence now show a trend of mutual integration, jointly serving as the foundation of the digital economy," Chen said.