China’s Shandong province has announced its ambitious plan to establish itself as a global leader in the metaverse industry by 2025. The metaverse refers to a virtual reality environment where people can interact with each other and digital content across various platforms and devices.
The province aims to build a metaverse market worth 130 billion yuan ($20.5 billion), accounting for 10% of the global market share, according to a report by the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission. This includes the development of metaverse infrastructure, content creation, platform operation, and application scenarios.
Shandong plans to support the growth of local metaverse enterprises, attract foreign investment and talent, and foster cross-industry collaboration and innovation. The potential applications of the metaverse include education, entertainment, tourism, culture, sports, healthcare, and e-commerce.
China, being the world’s second-largest economy and home to over 900 million internet users, has expressed its interest in developing its own version of the metaverse. Tech giants such as Facebook, Microsoft, Tencent, and Alibaba have also shown their ambitions in the metaverse. These companies envision a future where people can work, play, socialize, and create in virtual worlds.
However, the report also emphasizes the importance of ensuring the security, privacy, and ethics of the metaverse industry, as well as promoting its positive social impact. The global metaverse market is expected to reach $280 billion by 2025 and $1.5 trillion by 2030, according to a report by Strategy Analytics.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued guidelines for promoting the development of the virtual reality industry, which includes a focus on building a high-quality immersive virtual world that integrates with the physical world. This involves improving infrastructure and standards for VR devices and platforms, fostering innovation and collaboration among VR enterprises, and cultivating talents and applications in various sectors.
China’s VR market size reached 54.45 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) in 2020, with a predicted growth to 216.2 billion yuan ($33.4 billion) by 2025, according to a report by iResearch. Leading players in China’s VR industry include Tencent, Alibaba, Huawei, Baidu, ByteDance, Xiaomi, Netease, and iQiyi. These companies have been investing heavily in VR hardware, software, content, and services to capture opportunities in the lucrative metaverse market.
Sources:
- Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission report
- Strategy Analytics report
- China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) guidelines
- iResearch report
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