Shanghai to ramp up support for metaverse development, low-carbon projects, smart gadgets to help China’s economic recovery
- China’s financial and commercial hub plans to establish an industry fund, with around US$1.5 billion in assets, dedicated to metaverse development
- That support will help Shanghai foster 10 leading companies and 100 small-sized firms, which could launch 100 new metaverse products and services by 2025
This new initiative, which includes backing the development of low-carbon projects and smart terminal industries, is expected to “build advantages for future development” and become a “starting point for accelerating economic recovery”, according to a press conference held by Shanghai government officials on Friday. They said those three sectors combined are expected to be worth 1.5 trillion yuan (US$224 billion) by 2025.
“[Industries] such as the metaverse and smart terminals are expected to constantly spur new business schemes and models,” said Wu Jincheng, head of Shanghai’s Economy and Information Technology Committee, at the press conference. “[These would] give rise to ‘killer’ applications and popular products, releasing huge market value.”
The Shanghai government also aimed to establish an industry fund, with around 10 billion yuan in assets, dedicated to metaverse development. That financing will help the Chinese metropolis foster 10 leading companies and 100 small-sized firms, which could launch at least 100 “benchmarking products and services” by 2025.
“Metaverse will drive the transformation and upgrading of various industries in the real economy,” Wu said.
China’s local governments want in on metaverse
Still, Shanghai pledged to guard against “excessive financial speculation and malicious hype” in that field, as regulators and some segments in China remain wary of the frenzy around metaverse projects.
In February, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission warned the public to stay alert to illegal fundraising schemes and scams related to the metaverse.
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Under its latest initiative, Shanghai will also build industrial estates focused on low-carbon fields such as hydrogen energy development, high-end energy equipment and low-carbon metallurgy. The goal is to nurture 10 industry leaders and 1,000 specialised companies in this area, according to Wu, from the city’s Economy and Information Technology Committee.
The city also plans to heavily invest in enterprises that manufacture various smart terminals – including VR headsets, smart home gadgets, robots and smart vehicles – which are expected to boost “the upstream supply chain”, Wu said. The aim is to help cultivate at least two companies, with potential annual revenue of hundreds of billions yuan each, and launch at least 100 smart terminals for areas like healthcare, elderly help and transport.