Can China Make the Metaverse Unsafe with Its Virtual Reality Expansion?

'Metaverse Innovation and Development Plan' aimed at integrating NFT and metaverse plans

China's virtual reality plans are in action. The first step is to ship over 25 million virtual reality devices by 2026, according to an action plan on the development of the Metaverse industry released on Tuesday. The scale of China's Virtual reality and augmented reality industry, including hardware, software, and applications, will exceed 350 billion yuan ($48.1 billion) by 2026, according to the plan jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and four relevant departments.

The plan also involves cultivating 100 influential enterprises with strong innovation ability, building 10 leading Virtual Reality Expansion clusters with regional influence and developing 10 industrial public service platforms. The plan, which includes augmented reality and mixed reality in its definition of Virtual Reality Expansion, also calls for making breakthroughs in key technologies and applications by 2026.

China's virtual reality plans are essential for coordinating industrial resources, clarifying development goals and promoting the integrated application of VR in various fields, said Chen Xi, a senior engineer at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, in a report published on Tuesday. It can also facilitate the development of the electronic information industry as well as the digital transformation and upgrade of traditional industries, Chen said.

China's digital development plan has already begun as nine major cities across the country have started accepting digital Yuan for subway transportation. The bus commuters in Ningbo have also been given the option to pay in CBDC digital currency across ten transit routes. Guangzhou has also been accepting digital Yuan for its tram rides, and many other cities are starting to integrate digital currencies into the normal lives of people.

Going ahead with the country's digital development, China has announced a two-year plan to integrate digital currency and NFT into the country's normal life. Beijing is calling it the 'Metaverse Innovation and Development Plan' aimed at integrating NFT and metaverse plans in the country between 2022 and 2024.

Initially, the government is focusing on introducing metaverse plans in the education and tourism sector to make the country a center of the digital economy. China's virtual reality plans on introducing Metaverse theme parks and lifestyle centers which will be a big part of digital development. Shanghai has already made some major developments in the metaverse plans of the country as it introduces Web3 in the entertainment, public services, business and manufacturing sectors.

Earlier, China had banned crypto mining and imposed harsh monetary policies on NFTs. This move had driven away crypto miners to the US or Kazakhstan, while the companies owning NFT marketplaces, like Tencent, had shut down their operations. The current moves from the Chinese government aim at its intentions to create a digital economy through administrative measures only. Some people even took the classic monopoly of the Chinese government in the digital economy as an indication from the recent news.

Albeit, China's metaverse plans are a step ahead for the world's digital economy. People now expect a domino effect around the globe as other countries would like to join in on the digital development plans as well. China's e-CNY token is already gaining popularity and asset worth as citizens accept it into their daily lives.