SHANGHAI – Industrial digitization and metaphases will be at the center of the next wave of technological innovations in China, experts said at the Shanghai Y50 forum on Saturday.
After building a sophisticated market for consumer-oriented services, China’s technological development over the past few decades is shifting to industrial Internet services, said Zhou Hongyi, chairman of securities services firm Kihu 360 Technology. He called the new era a “new blue ocean market” for China’s technology sector.
“For example, there is still a gap in the market to digitize China’s 40 million strong medium and small businesses,” the tech billionaire said at an annual forum to promote innovation and entrepreneurship among China’s youth. It is a vital part of achieving the state’s digitization strategy.
The forum underscored the growing prospects of Metaverse, which has been labeled by some insiders as the next technological revolution.
According to Chen Rui, chairman and CEO of video streaming platform Bibili, Metaverse is not a single entity, but an entire industry that includes faster chips, more reliable computing power, operating systems and content development ecosystems. . Each sector, he said, has “the potential to generate huge markets.”
At the forum, Chen noted the widespread adoption of smartphones and related services in China. “Now it’s the same for the Metaverse. It’s where the future comes from.”
Yuan Hui, chairman of chatbot developer Shanghai Xiaoi Robot Technology and a Metaverse advocate, predicted that “in three years, the future of the Metaverse will be upon us.” The proliferation of consumer-facing VR/AR games, digital goods and virtual avatars around us is already part of the tech ecosystem, Metaverse told Sixth Tone.
Despite the hype surrounding the metaverse, experts have warned investors and industry insiders of the dangers of an “irrational” rush to the industry. Even so, both digitization and Metaverse have received government support as the country eases its controls on the sector to promote innovation and boost the slow economy.
Top cities, including Shanghai, have been active in heeding the state’s call for technological innovation. In the year The country’s financial center has proposed loans to tech companies worth 453 billion yuan ($65 billion) by 2021, a 33.3% year-on-year increase, according to a research report released at the Pujiang Innovation Forum on Sunday.
In July, Shanghai established a $1.5 billion industrial fund to boost the development of Metaverse and other technology-related industries to revive the city’s sluggish economy, which has been battered by months of shutdowns.
(Header Image: VCG)
