Exclusive interview with Conflux Network founder Long Fan: Shanghai-Hong Kong collaboration makes a strong push, redefining China's Web3 competitive advantages.

Original Author: Lesley, MetaEra

At the "Shanghai-Hong Kong Mutual Cooperation to Promote 'Web3' - Shanghai-Hong Kong 'Web3' Complementary Cooperation and Development Conference" on July 19, MetaEra's CEO Jessica had an in-depth conversation with Professor Long Fan, the founder of Conflux, the "only compliant public chain in China."

Long Fan graduated with a bachelor's degree from Tsinghua University's Yao Class, and subsequently pursued a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is currently a professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Toronto, with outstanding academic achievements. In this conversation, Long Fan reviewed the growth of Conflux and delved into the future development direction of the blockchain industry, especially in the context of increasingly strict global digital currency regulation, discussing how to balance technological innovation and compliance to promote the healthy development of the entire industry.

On the occasion of the seventh anniversary of Conflux, Conflux announced that the public chain version 3.0 will be launched in August and actively participated in the news of the "Belt and Road" offshore RMB stablecoin pilot. On July 20, the native token CFX of the Conflux public chain surged rapidly, with an increase of nearly 106% within 24 hours, reaching a peak of over $0.25, and the market reacted enthusiastically.

Conflux Network: Compliance-Driven Open Ecosystem Strategy

At a crucial time when the regulatory environment is becoming clearer and large institutions are accelerating their entry, Conflux is redefining its ecological expansion strategy with its unique compliance advantages. "As the only compliant public chain in the country at present, we hope to leverage the current market trend to actively lay out plans, allowing more ecosystems and more assets to settle on our Conflux public chain," said Long Fan. Behind this strategic positioning is a profound insight into the Asian market: "We will utilize our existing geographical advantages and focus more on cooperation opportunities in China, Hong Kong, and even Asia."

In terms of specific cooperation strategies, Conflux demonstrates a high degree of openness and inclusiveness, especially in the two core areas of stablecoins and RWA (real-world assets). Long Fan revealed, "We have maintained communication with almost all teams applying for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, and we are also connecting with some project parties that truly have the willingness and capability to implement RWA."

This all-encompassing cooperative stance reflects Conflux's clear positioning as an infrastructure provider. Long Fan further elaborated, "Firstly, we are a public chain and hope to provide underlying infrastructure for everyone. At the same time, in response to the compliance and business needs of our partners, we are also willing to offer assistance as much as we can." However, he also clarified the criteria for selecting partners: "What we hope for the most is to work hand in hand with teams that truly want to get things done."

This pragmatic cooperation concept has already begun to show results. The RWA project in collaboration with Conflux and Ant Group, as well as the stablecoin project AnchorX, have all become important achievements of this open ecological strategy, demonstrating how compliance advantages can be transformed into actual business value and ecological influence.

Twin City Synergy: A Perfect Combination of Technological Deepening and Capital Empowerment

The theme of this conference, "Shanghai-Hong Kong 'Web3' Complementary Cooperation Development Conference," precisely reflects Conflux's unique development philosophy and strategic layout.

Shanghai and Hong Kong are both important hubs in the development process of Conflux. Long Fan uses a highly insightful metaphor to describe this model: "If we say that our Conflux tree graph public chain is a highway, then the technical part of this highway—namely, the reinforced concrete—is built in Shanghai, while Hong Kong is the vehicle manufacturing factory on this highway, nurturing many application projects—the Conflux ecosystem is the standard of roads built in Shanghai and vehicles manufactured in Hong Kong."

This refined division of labor did not arise by chance, but is rooted in profound technical expertise and keen market insight. Conflux originated from the academic research practices of a group of technical geniuses from Tsinghua University's Yao Class, and subsequently, its technical research and development settled in the Shanghai Tree Map Blockchain Research Institute. From the launch of the Conflux mainnet to every major technological iteration thereafter, up to the upcoming version 3.0, all core technical work has been completed in Shanghai. Shanghai has laid a solid technical foundation for the Conflux public chain.

At the ecological application level, Hong Kong's unique advantages are beginning to emerge. "Hong Kong has its unique advantages in aggregating global financial capital and connecting with international standards, and it also has clear policy advantages in Web3," analyzed Long Fan. Data also confirms this judgment—more than half of the ecological projects deployed on Conflux currently come from Hong Kong. This "technology deep cultivation + capital empowerment" dual-city collaborative model is becoming one of Conflux's important competitive advantages.

More forward-looking, Long Fan believes that this model has broad application value: "I think this model is not only suitable for Conflux, but projects across the entire Web3 industry can engage in 'Mainland + Hong Kong' cooperation. Through this model, Hong Kong will become an important pole in the Web3 world, providing a city where Chinese Web3 entrepreneurs can strive together."

This statement reflects Long Fan's global thinking as a scholar-type entrepreneur: not only should he do well in his own project, but he should also promote the healthy development of the entire industry ecosystem. In his view, the collaboration between Shanghai and Hong Kong is not only a development strategy for Conflux but also an important path for the Chinese Web3 industry to leverage its comparative advantages in global competition. Through the organic combination of technological innovation and capital operation, projects led by Chinese individuals are expected to build unique competitive barriers in this brand-new Web3 track, and will form a "very powerful force" in the global digital asset field.

Writing at the End

From the academic projects of Tsinghua University's Yao Class to becoming an important industry player today, Conflux's seven-year development trajectory reflects the complete evolution of China's blockchain industry from technological exploration to commercial implementation. In this new development cycle, how to transform compliance advantages into ecological advantages, how to build global competitiveness through collaboration between the mainland and Hong Kong, and how to maintain technological leadership in pragmatic development—these are all questions that Chinese Web3 companies, including Conflux, must answer.

From this conversation, we see a development approach that combines technical depth with business wisdom: using compliance as the foundation, promoting development through openness, seeking win-win through collaboration, and strategizing for the future with a global perspective. This may well be the key to the breakthrough of Chinese Web3 companies in the new era.