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VR and AR
Tech

China’s virtual reality market set to expand, driven by increased policy support, 5G network roll-out

  • The country’s VR market is forecast to reach US$7.9 billion by 2021, as 5G mobile networks are deployed nationwide
  • China is already an important production base for VR devices in the world, according to an MIIT official

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Visitors wear virtual reality headsets to try a driving system in a booth at the CES Asia 2019 trade show in Shanghai on June 11. Photo: Bloomberg
Meng Jing

China’s virtual reality (VR) market is forecast to expand to 54.45 billion yuan (US$7.9 billion) by 2021, fuelled by increased policy support from Beijing, according to the industry regulator, as advanced 5G mobile networks are rolled out across the country.

“The compound annual growth rate of the VR market is expected to reach 91.2 per cent,” said Wu Shengwu, deputy head for the electronic information division of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

Wu said China has already become an important production base for VR devices in the world. The ministry, he said, will step up policy support and guide local governments across the country to introduce more measures that would help spur the development of this industry.

The VR industry had received a strong endorsement from Beijing at the end of last year, when the MIIT issued a two-step development plan to help accelerate the market’s growth.

The latest announcement comes as the country prepares for the roll-out of next-generation mobile networks, following the government’s recent award of commercial 5G licences to China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and the China Broadcasting Network.
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