Exclusive Interview with Conflux Network Founder Long Fan: Shanghai-Hong Kong Collaboration to Redefine China's Competitive Advantage in Web3

Author: Lesley, MetaEra
At the "Shanghai-Hong Kong Collaborative Development Conference on 'Web3'" held 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 from Tsinghua University's Yao Class and then pursued a Ph.D. in Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is currently a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, with remarkable academic achievements. During the conversation, Long Fan reviewed the growth journey of Conflux and discussed the future development direction of the blockchain industry, especially how to balance technological innovation and compliance in the context of increasingly stringent global digital currency regulations, promoting the healthy development of the entire industry.
On the occasion of Conflux's seventh anniversary, 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, increasing nearly 106% within 24 hours, breaking through $0.25 at its peak, with a strong market response.

Conflux Network: Compliance-Driven Open Ecosystem Strategy

At a critical juncture where the regulatory environment is becoming clearer and large institutions are accelerating their entry, Conflux is redefining its ecosystem expansion strategy with its unique compliance advantages. "As the only compliant public chain in the country, we hope to leverage the current market trends to actively layout and allow more ecosystems and assets to settle on our Conflux public chain," Long Fan stated. This strategic positioning is backed by a profound insight into the Asian market: "We will utilize our existing geographical advantages to 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 tracks of stablecoins and RWA (Real World Assets). Long Fan revealed, "We are in communication with almost all teams applying for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, and we are also connecting with some projects that genuinely 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 explained, "First of all, we are a public chain and hope to provide underlying infrastructure for everyone. At the same time, we are willing to help our partners with compliance and business needs as much as we can." However, he also clarified the criteria for selecting partners: "What we most hope for is to work hand in hand with teams that genuinely want to get things done."
This pragmatic cooperation philosophy has already begun to show results. The RWA project in collaboration with Ant Group and the stablecoin project AnchorX have become important achievements of this open ecosystem strategy, demonstrating how compliance advantages can be transformed into actual business value and ecological influence.

Bilateral Synergy: The Perfect Combination of Technical Depth and Capital Empowerment

The theme of this conference, "Shanghai-Hong Kong 'Web3' Complementary Cooperation Development Conference," aptly reflects Conflux's unique development philosophy and strategic layout.
Shanghai and Hong Kong are both important bases in Conflux's development process. Long Fan used a highly insightful metaphor to describe this model: "If our Conflux tree diagram public chain is a highway, then the technical part of this highway—namely, the concrete and steel—is built in Shanghai, while Hong Kong is the vehicle manufacturing plant on this highway, nurturing many application projects—Conflux's ecosystem is a standard model of Shanghai building roads and Hong Kong manufacturing vehicles."
This exquisite division of labor did not occur by chance but stems from a solid technical foundation 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, the technical research and development settled at the Shanghai Tree District Blockchain Research Institute. From the launch of the Conflux mainnet to every major technological iteration thereafter, including 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.
On 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 markets, and it also has obvious policy advantages in Web3," Long Fan analyzed. Data also supports this judgment—currently, more than half of the ecological projects deployed on Conflux come from Hong Kong. This "technical depth + capital empowerment" bilateral synergy model is becoming one of Conflux's important competitive advantages.
More forward-looking, Long Fan believes this model has broad application value: "I think this model is not only applicable to Conflux; projects in 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 and provide a city where Chinese Web3 entrepreneurs can strive together."
This statement reflects Long Fan's holistic thinking as a scholar-entrepreneur: not only to do well in his own project but also to promote the healthy development of the entire industry ecosystem. In his view, the Shanghai-Hong Kong synergy 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 operations, projects led by Chinese individuals are expected to build unique competitive barriers in this new Web3 track and will form a "very powerful force" in the global digital asset field.

In Conclusion

From the academic project of Tsinghua's Yao Class to its current status as an important industry participant, Conflux's seven-year development trajectory reflects the complete evolution of China's blockchain industry from technological exploration to commercial implementation. In the 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 are questions that Chinese Web3 companies, including Conflux, must answer.
From this dialogue, we see a development approach that combines technical depth with business wisdom: using compliance as a foundation, promoting development through openness, seeking win-win through collaboration, and planning for the future with a global perspective. This may be the key to breaking through for Chinese Web3 companies in the new era.