The Chinese government has unveiled an ambitious plan to establish China as a global leader in metaverse technology and applications by 2025. The action plan, released jointly by five national ministries, aims to cultivate major metaverse companies and develop advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and virtual reality.
The blueprint sets several key targets for 2025, including establishing 3–5 metaverse companies with “global influence” and 3–5 industrial clusters centered around metaverse technologies. It also calls for breakthroughs across technologies, applications, and governance. The overarching goal is for the metaverse to become a “significant growth pole” in China’s digital economy.
Enhancing Manufacturing and Industrial Productivity
Central to the plan is developing metaverse technologies tailored to enhance manufacturing and industrial productivity. This includes using virtual environments to optimize factory layouts, machine interactions, and product designs. The document explicitly mentions potential benefits for automotive, aerospace, textiles, steel, and home appliances. Architectural design, urban planning, and healthcare are also noted as industries ripe for metaverse integration.
Beyond manufacturing, China envisions metaverse applications that span entertainment, tourism, education, healthcare, and more. Some local governments have already invested in developing metaverse infrastructure and services for their regions. For example, Henan province aims to grow its metaverse industry to $15 billion by 2025 across sectors like education, energy, and virtual humans. Shanghai has launched a $1.5 billion metaverse investment fund focused on consumption and public services innovations.
Leading the Next Generation of Internet
The national plan argues that the metaverse represents an opportunity for China to “lead the next generation of internet development.” Cultivating the industry domestically is seen as a way to boost high-tech manufacturing and the digital economy. The document notes that metaverse technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality are progressing rapidly worldwide.
China has existing strengths to build on, especially around 5G, semiconductors, cloud computing, and game development. The country is home to some of the world’s largest tech firms, including Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance. These companies have already made significant metaverse investments and launched early applications, often focused on social interactions.
For example, Tencent recently created a virtual community hub linked to its popular WeChat app. Users can create personalized 3D avatars, play games, shop, and interact with each other’s virtual profiles. Tencent has said it aims to blend “the virtual world with the real world.”
Overcoming Challenges
However, chronic chip shortages and U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductors could hinder China’s metaverse ambitions. Developing advanced graphics processing chips used for VR headsets and AR glasses will be critical. Chinese firms are pouring money into next-generation chip development but still lag behind industry leaders like Nvidia and Qualcomm. Stringent data regulations also pose challenges as metaverse ecosystems require seamless data interoperability. While emphasizing industry cooperation, China’s plan notably lacked involvement from the country’s internet and data regulators. This risks fragmented development across walled-off platforms.
Global Competition
Internationally, China will have to compete with metaverse pioneers like Meta, Microsoft, and Apple. Meta alone has invested over $10 billion in its metaverse division, Reality Labs. However, China argues its focus on industrial use cases differentiates its approach from “entertainment-oriented” Western metaverses. Skeptics have also raised concerns about consumer privacy, generative AI, and misinformation as metaverse adoption increases. China’s plan calls for strengthened governance and security mechanisms, reflecting similar global debates.
If successful, China’s metaverse development plan would position the country at the forefront of the next internet revolution. However, realizing ambitious technological and industrial goals will require overcoming immense technical and regulatory challenges. With the emerging global metaverse landscape, China sees an opportunity to carve out a role as a rule-setter and stakeholder.
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