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Business trends

Alibaba leads China’s drive to secure new blockchain technologies

Tech companies forge ahead in patent applications for alternative uses

Chinese companies are developing blockchain technology for various uses, including the authentication of agricultural products. (© Nikkei illustration)

TOKYO -- Alibaba Group Holding has filed more than 10 per cent of the world's patent applications for blockchain in a sign of China's ambitions to dominate the next generation technology in uses beyond cryptocurrencies.

China filed more patent applications than the U.S. last year, with technology companies such as Tencent Holdings and Baidu accounting for 56% of the worldwide total of 406, according to data collated by Thomson Reuters.

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