China to Standardize Metaverse, Formed Working Teams With Giants 

The world’s second-largest economy, China, buckles up the belts to delve into the Metaverse. A notice from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Friday, January 19 revealed the initiative of China to standardize the Metaverse sector. A list of Metaverse Standardization Working Group members from corporations, the government, and academia was released.   

“Based on the needs of industrial development and industry management, the units decided to form a Yuanverse standardization working group”, the notice mentions. The list of Metaverse Standardization Working Group members including Huawei, Ant Group, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and Sense Time was attached to the notice.    

China’s Initiative Towards Metaverse Standardization 

China was working towards the set up of industrial standards for its Metaverse sector and finally came up with an initiative. According to MIIT, there is no connectivity or consensus between the research sectors and the academia industry, making it challenging to meet Metaverse standardization.  

To establish collaboration and consensus among different sectors, MIITplesges to boost Web3 and Metaverse standardization. A document released by MIIT on September 18, 2023, specified the need to develop a Yuanshi Standardization Working Group. Following the plan, MIIT finally released the list of members.     

The working group list will remain valid until February 18, 2024. Also, individuals are welcome to share their opinions and feedback to make improvements. As per the plan, setting basic standards like reference architecture and Metaverse terminology will benefit empowering stakeholders.   

“The initiative will mitigate the redundant investment costs and develop strong collaboration among stakeholders to move the industrial development forward”, said MIIT. 

In September 2021, China completely banned the transactions of digital currency due to its negative impact on the environment and individuals. Despite a cryptocurrency ban, the continuous advancement and popularity of blockchain technology attracted China to the development of NFTs and decentralized applications. Beijing’s initiative to support Web3 and blockchain technology represents China’s attraction towards evolving technologies.

In addition to this, several other local governments also decided to delve into the Metaverse. Sichuan, a Southwestern Chinese province decided to grow its Metaverse industry, on 16 August 2023, the government delved into the Metaverse to help the sector hit a market size of $35.1 Billion by 2025 end, released a notice. 

Furthermore, Shandong province also pledged to expand the Metaverse and reach a market size of 150 Billion Yuan by 2025. The plan is to build several Metaverse-related parks along with nurturing at least 15 Metaverse firms. 

Blockchain optimization, cross-chain control development, and empowering privacy protection are some major focuses. Another major focus is improving digital governance and better regulations related to personal information protection, data security, and internet safety.  

Metaverse is a space that merges the physical and digital worlds, permitting individuals to interact as avatars. 

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast, with a major in macroeconomics and minor in business statistics. She believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks, and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning. She frequently researches, and posts content on the top altcoins, their theoretical working principles and technical price predictions.