A concept photo of metaverse Photo: VCG

The municipal government of Shanghai will accelerate research into interactive platforms that connect the virtual and real world, according to measures released during a municipal government news conference on Tuesday outlining efforts to expand investment and stabilize economic development in 2022. 

The creation of these interactive platforms will be part of Shanghai's efforts to push forward the city's digital transformation. For example, it will speed up the approval of a number of new infrastructure projects in emerging industries including intelligent hospitals, smart factories and intelligent transportation. 

The city will also support retail and commercial banks to establish a special new infrastructure loan with preferential interest rates, while directing social capital to increase investment in new infrastructure projects. 

Shanghai also noted that it will implement preferential credit policies for high-tech industries such as integrated circuits and artificial intelligence. 

Earlier, a Shanghai government official had said that the city will encourage new business areas such as the metaverse, digital economy and green low-carbon industries.

The Shanghai city government's allocation of intelligent interactive platforms comes at a time when multiple cities are including the metaverse into their government work reports with the intention of staking a claim in thedevelopment thenascent industry. 

Hefei, a city in East China's Anhui Province, noted in its recent government work report that the city will support future industries such as the metaverse, superconductivity and precision medicine. 

The city of Wuhan in Central Chin's Hubei Province also said recently that it aims to push the integration of the real economy with tech industries related to the metaverse, big data and cloud computing. 

Global Times