- Named China Mobile Communications Association, the body onboarded 17 new firms yesterday.
- The body is registered with China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and is backed by firms like Huawei.
- Analysts believe China might strictly regulate metaverse development.
A Chinese industry entity that seeks to develop the country’s metaverse applications has onboarded more companies as it strives to make progress in the virtual world industry. According to a report, the body is titled China Mobile Communications Association, and it added 17 new companies yesterday. With these additions, the association now comprises a total of 112 companies.
The latest batch of firms to join the body includes publicly-listed companies like Inly Media, which trades in Shanghai, and Beijing Topnew Info & Tech, which trades in Shenzhen. Reportedly, the association is registered with China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and is supported by technology firms like Huawei and China Mobile, a telecoms operator.
The association established its metaverse committee in October, tasking it with developing standards and technology around the metaverse. Notably, this is not the first web3-focused body in the country. Before this, China formed the National Blockchain and Distributed Accounting Technology Standardization Technical Committee, which comprised firms like JD.com and Tencent, among others.
China might regulate metaverse development strictly
While the China Mobile Communications Association seeks to develop metaverse applications, the country’s intentions with the burgeoning sector remain unclear. Experts believe the formation of this body could suggest China seeks to regulate the technology as it unlocks new milestones.
Du Zhengping, the Head of the China Mobile Communications Association’s metaverse industry committee, previously said,
Traditional Chinese internet businesses developed first and were then regulated. Industries like the metaverse will be regulated as they are built.
Like their US counterparts, leading Chinese technology firms like Tencent and Alibaba are also exploring creating metaverse applications. However, analysts claim China’s metaverse development will be highly regulated and might not feature cryptocurrencies, seeing as the country enforced a blanket ban on digital assets last year.
Explaining why Chinese firms are rushing into the metaverse, Managing Partner at CloudTree Ventures Winston Ma said,
Metaverse is the future of social network. All China’s tech giants have to embrace it to find new ways to engage the youngest generation of internet users, which is critical at the time when their business models on smartphones and mobile internet are matured.
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