China's Metaverse Committee, Asia Digital Bank to jointly boost BRI digital econ

The China Mobile Communication Association Metaverse Committee (CMCAMC), the country's first metaverse industry group, has signed a strategic partnership with the Asia Digital Bank (ADB) to jointly explore the new digital finance and trade ecosystem in the metaverse era and promote cooperation in developing the digital economy with countries and regions along routes of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the CMCAMC announced on Feb 22.

Under a plan targeting the development of China's digital economy during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the country paid great attention to pacing up the development of the digital silk road through a variety of measures, including digital economic cooperation with global partners, cooperation with BRI countries to ensure network infrastructure interconnection, among others.

The CMCAMC was set up in Beijing on October 15, 2021, to study national industrial policy and mobile communication development strategy, keep tabs on the relationship between industrial development and government macro-control to serve governmental decision-making.

As a national social organization, the CMCAMC also coordinates with industrial experts at home and abroad and promotes exchanges and cooperation among industrial enterprises. So far, it has launched various seminars, forums, and research and investigative activities related to the mobile communication industry.

The members of the CMCAMC include China's telecommunications carriers such as the China Mobile Communication Group Co., Ltd., the China United Communications Co., Ltd. and the China Telecommunications Co., Ltd., in addition to relevant enterprises, institutions, insiders from the government's policy research departments, and experts from finance, technology and media sectors.

Cooperation with Asia Digital Bank

The ADB is the world's first digital bank with a self-financing system built on blockchain technology approved by Malaysian authorities, while being guided and initiated by Chinese institutions based on digital and financial strategic cooperation under the BRI. It will cooperate with the CMCAMC in five key sectors following regulations in both China and Malaysia, according to a post on CMCAMC's official website.

Apart from the BRI members, both sides also aim to link China's economy with the global digital economy through blockchain, while facilitating the issuance, trading and circulation of high-quality assets of the world's second-largest economy in the global market.

Still, the two sides will offer more business services and support for metaverse-related projects under the offshore financial policy framework.

As for future cooperation with BRI economies, Yu Jianing, executive director of the CMCAMC, said the Committee will continue to explore innovative models to empower industries through cutting-edge digital and financial technologies such as blockchain.

Efforts will be made to integrate both domestic and international digital and financial resources to offer diversified, customized, international and digital services, and promote metaverse partnerships among China, ASEAN members and the rest of the world, Yu added.