Zhejiang is the latest Chinese province to roll out a metaverse development plan after the concept gained traction among local Chinese authorities as a promising new industry. The province, where Alibaba Group Holding is headquartered, aims to develop metaverse-related industries valued at more than CNY200 billion by 2025, according to a development plan published on the official website of the provincial Development and Reform Commission. The plan for the 2023 to 2025 period laid out several major goals, such as building a complete supply chain and industrial ecosystem, improving innovation, and promoting metaverse applications in industries such as e-commerce and entertainment. To achieve these goals, Zhejiang aims to groom 10 industry leaders and 50 enterprises with their own expertise in augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, blockchain and artificial intelligence industries. Several local government departments – including the Publicity Department, Cybersecurity Administration, Department of Science and Technology, provincial Department of Commerce and Market Supervision Bureau – are all participating in the development plan.
Zhejiang is not the only Chinese province that has laid out metaverse work plans. Since last year, authorities in several major cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuhan, have unveiled similar plans. Chinese tech companies are also testing the waters in the sector. Shanghai-based Xiaohongshu is selling virtual fashion items in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), while Tencent Holdings has undertaken collaborations with a number of fashion brands for its Peacekeeper Elite game, the localized version of PUBG Mobile.
The newly published plan by the Zhejiang government also emphasizes the integration of the real economy and the metaverse in areas including manufacturing, medicine, and future cities. Metaverse applications will be applied in scenarios such as industrial product design and development, surgery practice, as well as government services. Still, state media has issued warnings about risks in the metaverse industry as local governments and enterprises flock into the booming sector. Last month, the Economic Daily newspaper cautioned against “feverishly” jumping on the metaverse bandwagon.
A recently released five-year plan (2022-26) to integrate virtual reality technology with industrial applications aims to increase the market size of China’s virtual reality industry to above CNY350 billion by 2026, by which time the government expects to have cultivated 100 enterprises with strong innovative ability and industrial influence. The value of the virtual reality market in China exceeded CNY100 billion in 2021, according to CCID Consulting.
