London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Shanghai doubles down on the metaverse by including it in a development plan

Shanghai doubles down on the metaverse by including it in a development plan

A Shanghai city department's five-year development plan includes encouraging metaverse use in public services, business offices and social entertainment.
China’s biggest city is getting serious about the metaverse, the technology that’s drawn mass attention this year for its potential to form the next generation of the internet.

Chinese government departments and local authorities have issued five-year development plans this year to show how they aim to implement the central government’s five-year plan issued in March.

One released by Shanghai on Thursday contained the first mention of the metaverse, according to Chinese media reports. The technology extends human interactions to a virtual world of three-dimensional avatars.

The metaverse is one of four frontiers for exploration, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology said in its five-year plan for developing the electronic information industry.

The document called for “encouraging the application of the metaverse in areas such as public services, business offices, social entertainment, industrial manufacturing, production safety and electronic games,” according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese text.

The commission said it plans to increase research and development of underlying technologies, including sensors, real-time interaction and blockchain.

The document did not lay out a specific timeline or goals for metaverse research and development.

Beijing’s latest five-year plan released in March named seven “frontier” technologies China would focus on as it seeks self-reliance in science and technology.

The metaverse has since become a buzzword, most notably with American social network giant Facebook changing its name to Meta in October. Then earlier this month, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he expects most virtual meetings will move to the metaverse within the next two or three years.

This week, Beijing-based Baidu held what it claims to be China’s first conference in the metaverse. The event was meant to mark the opening of Baidu’s metaverse app to developers, and an executive told reporters he expects it will be six years before the full launch of the app.

In addition to general metaverse buzz on Chinese social media, state media has published several articles on the topic, primarily about the risk of scams.

After a year of bans and greater regulation on various kinds of technology, including cryptocurrencies, new rules on metaverse development are likely next, Winston Ma, adjunct professor of law at New York University, said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

He pointed to how some aspects of the metaverse’s global development are related to gaming and cryptocurrency products like non-fungible tokens, all of which have come under greater scrutiny in China. Ma was not speaking in the specific context of the Shanghai commission’s development plans.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×