NOT long after metaverse became a buzzword in the tech world, generating hopes that it may unlock new potentials of the internet, the term has made its way into the industry policies of China’s local governments.

As part of their economic planning for 2022, local decision-makers have vowed to further develop future industries, from metaverse and blockchain to artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality, a move reflective of their growing desire to look to innovation as a key driver of growth.

Official economic data showed that various parts of China continued to recover steadily from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of Hubei Province reached 5 trillion yuan (US$789 billion) last year, a new height for the province once hard hit by the epidemic.

Calling 2021 “extraordinary and challenging,” Wang Zhonglin, governor of Hubei, said it was a year full of achievements in post-pandemic recovery. With the GDP of Dongguan, a city in Guangdong Province, surpassing 1 trillion yuan, Guangdong now has four cities in the “1 trillion yuan club.” The GDP of the province as a whole exceeded 12 trillion yuan for the first time, leading all provincial-level regions.

High-tech industries have played an increasingly important role in driving growth in various parts of China, with local governments pinning high hopes on the development of new sectors such as AI and quantum information.

The Beijing city government aims to launch 20 major application scenarios to promote the formation of industrial clusters such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, extended reality and ultra-high-definition display.

Boasting a strong digital economy, Zhejiang Province will promote the development of future industries such as brain-like intelligence and quantum information, and strive to increase the added value of the core industries of the digital economy by 12 percent.

The development of the digital economy is also conducive to upgrading traditional industries. Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality plans to speed up the intelligent transformation of production equipment and key chains, and cultivate 10 new smart factories and 100 digital workshops.

Among many cutting-edge technologies and new concepts, metaverse has become one of the most eye-catching words in the discussions of local lawmakers and political advisors.

“The concept of metaverse can be regarded as the comprehensive development and innovative extension of the digital economy,” said Tong Zhilei, a deputy to the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress.

Some regions are already on the move. Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, plans to cultivate a group of leading enterprises in frontier industries such as metaverse in the next five years, while Wuhan, capital of Hubei, aims to build a national pilot zone on new-generation AI through the integration of the metaverse, big data, cloud computing and blockchain with the real economy.

In Tianjin, pro-innovation policies have given rise to a boom in high-tech firms. Last year, 130 enterprises in the port city were listed as national-level Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are specialized and innovative.

Shandong Province in East China aims to incubate 400 such SMEs by 2025, while Zhejiang plans to add 100 similar companies in 2022. (Xinhua)