Beijing Announced Its Two-Year Metaverse Innovation And Development Plan

Beijing announced its two-year Metaverse innovation and development plan on August 23, with which it is requiring all districts to follow the mandated and recently revealed Web3 innovation plan.

The Metaverse is referred to in the development action plan as a new generation of information technology integration and innovation that will drive the internet’s progress towards Web3. The innovation strategy focuses on fostering the growth of metaverse-related enterprises and assisting Beijing in becoming a digital economy benchmark city.

The action plan requires that various districts construct city-level technology infrastructure and encourage its usage in a variety of industries, including education and tourism. The development program would include the integration of technology methods such as 3D visualization and GIS (Geographic Information System) to create a visual urban area digital platform and enhance the architecture of digital native intelligent infrastructure.

According to a Google Translate transcript of the official document:

“Promote digital education scenarios, support in-depth cooperation between Metaverse-related technology companies and educational institutions, expand intelligent and interactive online education models, and develop industry-wide digital teaching platforms.”

The Metaverse development action plan also directs districts and municipalities to provide financial and human resource assistance in the establishment of virtual reality. The Beijing city administration also ordered that nonfungible token (NFT) technology trends be tracked and that regulatory sandbox programs be investigated to foster innovation.

Despite China’s anti-crypto position, the government has expressed interest in the metaverse idea since early 2021. Prior to Beijing, Shanghai included the metaverse in its five-year growth plan. However, the government’s interest in emerging technology has not resulted in any beneficial rules for tech firms pursuing the same notion.

Beijing announced its two-year Metaverse innovation and development plan which will see many new developments in the coming two years.

In other news, in July Tencent was forced to close one of the two NFT platforms due to dwindling revenues helped by the Chinese government’s regressive monetary policy. Similarly, only hours after its inception, Alibaba was forced to remove any mentions of its NFT marketplace.

Two large Chinese cities have established multi-year action plans centered on the Metaverse and NFTs in recent months. The Chinese government’s growing interest in top Web3 technology might lead to greater adoption in the country, comparable to its central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is already being used by millions in the test phase.

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