Southern Beijing's Fengtai district is planning to build a 10 billion yuan ($1.41 billion) commercial cryptography cluster by the end of 2026, making it the first national-level industrial cluster in China built around commercial cryptography.

Commercial cryptography underpins a wide range of everyday and high-security applications — from ATM identity verification to protecting aerospace communications from interception. It is widely used in mobile payments and electronic government services to safeguard personal finances, enterprise data, and national security.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Fengtai introduced a three-year action plan to accelerate the sector and launched a district-level working group in 2023. 

Over the past two years, its network of partner companies has grown from 13 to 87, bringing together key national institutions such as the State Cryptography Administration, the Commercial Cryptography Testing and Certification Center, and the Cybersecurity Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Information and Information Technology, as well as leading firms including Shudun Technology, SINOINFOSEC, and others. Universities including Beijing Electronic Science and Technology Institute and Capital University of Economics and Business have also joined, forming an ecosystem that links industry, academia, research, application, and testing.

"Last year, Fengtai's commercial cryptography cluster recorded 6.47 billion yuan in output, with nine national-level 'little giant' enterprises and 32 other specialized and innovative SMEs, and more than 260 invention patents," said an official from the district's science and technology authority. 

Going forward, Fengtai will leverage its strengths in rail transit, aerospace, and digital finance to build a data-security industrial park centered on commercial cryptography, aiming to surpass 10 billion yuan in industry scale by 2026 and roll out demonstrative, scalable application scenarios and solutions, the district official said.