![]() ![]() The plan also signals that Beijing will take a more active role in handling the personal data generated by these platforms. “They’re trying to centralize as well as isolate the Chinese metaverse or digital ecosystem from that abroad.” “As we can see from the plan, has really concrete ideas on how to lead this industry to the point where they want it to be,” said Liu. The virtual idol industry has been dogged by reports of low pay and grueling working conditions, but Beijing’s action plan focuses instead on two cornerstone themes of Chinese tech policy: personal information security and promoting the “healthy and orderly development of society,” which invariably involves censorship. ![]() But even these virtual stars are powered by the talents of real people who lend their voices and movements to bring them to life. As VTubers – or virtual YouTubers – and virtual influencers have emerged as a new form of celebrity, marketing agencies and entertainment companies have invested in developing digital personalities as controllable alternatives to real stars. Tech giant Alibaba even launched its own virtual influencer for the 2022 Olympic Games, modeled to be an “outspoken young woman passionate about sports.” Games and metaverse platforms encourage players to spend money to customize the look of their avatar, effectively buying virtual clothes for their digital persona. It’s not as far-fetched as it might sound: Digital humans in various forms have already seen widespread popularity in China. The plan envisions huge growth in the next few years, projecting that by 2025, revenue will hit $7.3 billion in the capital city alone - and expecting that virtual humans will assist with online banking, shopping, and travel services within the next few years. “But in China, has delved deep into the industry itself.” ![]() might have overarching policies or agendas for the tech sector in general,” said Hanyu Liu, who analyzes China’s metaverse and gaming industries at Daxue Consulting in Shanghai. Beijing’s acknowledgment of the industry and the impact it might have in the future shows that China is looking ahead to set standards in a sector that few other governments have yet to acknowledge, let alone come up with a concrete plan for growth. More broadly, analysts say the significance of the digital human plan is that it exists at all. The new action plan, called the Beijing Action Plan for Promoting the Innovation and Development of the Digital Human Industry, is the first of its kind, in which the government lays out the goals and prospects for all things online - and in the metaverse - that perform a human-like function. In the plan, the Beijing government does not outright define what counts as a digital human, but analysts who study Chinese tech policy say the term covers anything from player-controlled avatars in games like Roblox or metaverse platforms like Baidu’s Xirang to virtual influencers and digital pop stars like Ayayi and Luo Tianyi. But that’s where this plan was different: this one aims to boost investment in digital humans. The new plan began, like many others, with standard language: in order to “thoroughly implement” the instructions of President Xi Jinping and “the strategic deployment” of the 14th Five-Year Plan for Digital Economy Development, the government would promote growth in key areas of the tech sector. In early August, the Beijing municipal government laid out a four-year action plan, a way that authorities in China often communicate their priorities, giving a not-so-subtle nudge to businesses about the direction they should head in. ![]()
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