China aims virtual reality industry growing sixfold by 2026

China aims to develop a 350-billion-yuan ($48.2 billion) virtual reality (VR) industry with shipments of more than 25 million devices by 2026.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and four other ministries published a guideline on Tuesday and categorized virtual reality as a key industry for the digital economy under the country's 14th five-year plan.

According to public data gathered by a research institute under state-run newspaper People’s Daily, China shipped only 3.7 million VR devices last year, which means that China’s VR industry will see a sixfold increase in the total number of shipments by 2026.

The guideline did not specify whether the 25 million devices goal referred to annual or accumulative shipments between now and 2026.

Virtual reality, which includes augmented reality and mixed reality according to the guideline, will help China become a powerhouse in manufacturing, cyberspace, culture and the digital economy.

By 2026, China’s VR industry will have 100 core companies and form 10 public service platforms by 2026, VR technology will be used in video gaming, short videos, fitness, education and other areas, according to the guideline.

China’s motivation for the action plan comes against the backdrop that U.S. and South Korea governments identified virtual reality as an important industry, the China Academy of Information and Communications, a state-backed think tank, noted in a report.

According to a June report published by market intelligence firm IDC, China’s leading VR company Pico, which acquired by TikTok owner ByteDance last year, held a 4.5 per cent share in the global VR market, which is tiny compared to a 90 percent share held by Facebook owner Meta Platforms.

Virtual reality and augmented reality are widely regarded as underlying technology to support the application and adoption of Metaverse, VR and AR devices allow people to tap into a growing class of immersive video games, immersive workplace collaboration tools and other applications that seek to meld the physical and digital worlds.