The Industrial Metaverse as an Accelerator for New Industrialization in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Zhou Xiaodong
(School of Accounting, Guangdong Technology College, Zhaoqing, Guangdong 526100)

Abstract

This paper examines the fundamental concepts of the metaverse and industrial metaverse, along with the characteristics of their key enabling technologies, arguing that the industrial metaverse represents a new stage in the digitalization and intelligentization of industry and the broader economy. The study introduces how various districts in Guangzhou are strategically supporting the empowerment of traditional industries through the metaverse, with each district emphasizing different aspects of metaverse industry development. Guangzhou possesses distinct advantages for developing the metaverse industry, including robust hardware and software foundations, multiple advantageous industries for metaverse applications, and deep integration of digital and physical economies that creates a solid foundation for metaverse development. The paper elaborates on how the industrial metaverse constitutes a new spatiotemporal dimension for the integrated development of Guangzhou's digital and real economies, serves as a booster for new quality productive forces in the Greater Bay Area, and represents a crucial driving force for new industrialization. Addressing the shortcomings and imbalances in advancing the industrial metaverse across different districts in Guangzhou, the paper proposes recommendations for improving top-level design, strengthening overall coordination, constructing comprehensive scenario demonstrations, building collaborative agglomeration ecosystems, establishing technology research systems, promoting integration and sharing of regional innovation elements, and developing regional manufacturing innovation collaboration mechanisms.

Keywords: Metaverse, VR/AR, Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Metaverse, Digital Twin

The metaverse represents a collection of virtual spatiotemporal dimensions—a digital world that links, integrates, and creates through modern technological means, mapping and interacting with the physical world. It constitutes a digital manufacturing, service, work, and living space with modern and future social systems, essentially a parallel universe running concurrently with human society in digital form. Through augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), extended reality (XR), and Internet technologies, the metaverse delivers immersive experiences.

The industrial metaverse represents the deep integration of digital technology and manufacturing, serving as a crucial driver for future manufacturing transformation. It is an industrial ecosystem where new information and communication technologies such as extended reality (XR) and digital twins deeply merge with the physical industrial economy. Through XR, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, blockchain, and digital twin technologies, it enables seamless connectivity among people, machines, materials, and systems, merging modern digital technology with real-world industry to promote sustained and efficient development of physical industry. It constructs a new manufacturing and service system covering the entire industrial chain and value chain, marking a new stage in industrial digitalization and intelligentization.

1. The Industrial Metaverse Boosts New Quality Productive Forces Development in the Greater Bay Area

In July 2024, the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization, adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, called for "improving institutional mechanisms for developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions" and "improving the system for promoting deep integration between the digital and real economies" (China Government Network, 2024). New quality productive forces, driven by innovation, break away from traditional economic growth models and productivity development paths. They represent an advanced form of productivity characterized by high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, aligning with new development concepts. As a concrete manifestation of advanced productive forces, new quality productive forces represent Chinese innovation and practice of Marxist productivity theory, representing fundamental outcomes achieved through breakthroughs in interdisciplinary integration of scientific and technological innovation. The industrial metaverse integrates modern digital technology with real-world industry, which will powerfully promote sustained and efficient development of physical industry in the Greater Bay Area, constructing a new manufacturing and service system covering the entire industrial chain and value chain, thereby boosting new quality productive forces development in the Greater Bay Area.

1.1 The Metaverse as a New Internet Application and Social Form Integrating Virtual and Real

The metaverse is a parallel universe running concurrently with human society in digital form, created through modern technological means that link, integrate, and create a digital world that maps and interacts with the physical reality. It constitutes a digital manufacturing, service, work, and living space with modern and future social systems, representing a new Internet application and social form that integrates virtual and real, created by converging multiple new technologies. Through augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and Internet technologies, the metaverse delivers immersive experiences and is known as the third-generation Internet (Web 3.0), which can be further subdivided into spatial Internet and value Internet. The metaverse will empower all industries, including manufacturing, stimulating new functions for innovation and development in traditional industries and enabling industry transformation and high-quality development.

1.2 The Industrial Metaverse as an Important Driving Force for New Industrialization

The industrial metaverse will fully utilize data from real physical models, sensor updates, and operational history, combined with XR technology to simulate digital employees, multi-physical quantities, multi-dimensions, multi-probabilities, and real-time industrial simulation processes. It maps the physical world into virtual space, which can be a new application mode of digital technology mapping for one or multiple important, interdependent real equipment systems, thereby optimizing physical equipment and processes in industrial manufacturing. The industrial metaverse creates implementation space for service-oriented manufacturing transformation such as personalized customization, mass customization, flexible manufacturing, and full lifecycle product operation and maintenance. Industrial metaverse based on "dark factories" (a new type of intelligent unmanned factory in intelligent society), digital twins, CPS (Cyber-Physical Systems), AR, and VR will overturn current economic and social structures, enabling different traditional industries to be reborn in the industrial metaverse.

In early September 2023, five ministries and commissions including China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and National Radio and Television Administration jointly issued the Three-Year Action Plan for Metaverse Industry Innovation and Development (2023-2025) (MIIT Joint Science [2023] No. 49), aiming to build the industrial metaverse and empower manufacturing. Driven by the integration of new-generation information technologies, the plan proposes 14 key tasks across five aspects: building advanced metaverse technology and industrial systems, cultivating three-dimensional interactive industrial metaverse, creating immersive digital life applications, constructing comprehensive industrial support systems, and building a safe and trustworthy industrial governance system.

The industrial metaverse represents the mutual integration of industrial physical reality, virtual reality, and augmented reality. It primarily encompasses three levels: First, the industrial material layer, referring to the physical materials in industrial production such as factories, machinery, raw materials, and energy that cannot be separated from industrial metaverse development and are highly related to concrete industrial production; second, the industrial technology layer, where the industrial metaverse continuously meets consumers' physical and psychological needs through ongoing R&D and product/service creation based on existing industrial materials, mainly comprising composite technology layers formed by extended reality technologies such as VR/AR/MR and digital twin technology, with immersion and interactivity as notable characteristics; third, the industrial interaction layer, where a continuously maturing interaction layer is formed under the support of industrial material and technology layers, enabling enterprise R&D, production, management, and service personnel to simultaneously complete a series of social production and service activities in both physical and virtual worlds, with producers and consumers communicating, interacting, and co-creating value in both physical and virtual worlds.

1.4 The System Composition, Main Application Objectives, and Various Scenarios of the Industrial Metaverse

(1) System Composition of the Industrial Metaverse

The industrial metaverse is primarily composed of five systems: technology system, standard system, product system, service system, and guarantee system. The technology system of the industrial metaverse is still in continuous evolution and development, "currently mainly composed of spatiotemporal engines + real-time rendering + large-scale modeling technologies, natural interaction technologies, blockchain technologies, network communication and computing power technologies, artificial intelligence technologies, IoT/sensing technologies, and digital twin technologies. Among them, hot technologies in the industrial metaverse include 5G, computing power networks, virtual reality/augmented reality technologies, digital twin technologies, artificial intelligence technologies, blockchain technologies, industrial metaverse platforms, and advanced computing" [1]. From the perspective of the entire product lifecycle, the industrial metaverse has achieved varying degrees of application in industrial R&D, production, management, sales, and training stages; from the perspective of industrial system hierarchy, the industrial metaverse has achieved equipment-level, production-line-level, factory-level, and industrial-chain-level applications, significantly promoting enterprise quality improvement, cost reduction, and efficiency enhancement, as well as serving industrial chain governance and supply chain optimization.

(2) Main Application Objectives of the Industrial Metaverse

The main application objectives are: First, strengthen technology reserves. Focusing on the integrated application of new-generation information technologies, systematically review the current status of the industrial metaverse industrial chain in hardware facilities, basic software, virtual platforms, content production, and industry applications. Study the long-term development of industrial metaverse scientific and technological innovation, target shortcomings in key breakthroughs and integrated applications, expand existing strengths, formulate and deploy strategic plans for metaverse-related technology research, and implement key projects step by step in a targeted manner.

Second, accelerate standard development. "Relying on existing standardization organizations for blockchain, artificial intelligence, AR/VR, brain-computer interfaces, and graphics and images, coordinate domestic standardization efforts, accelerate research on industrial metaverse standardization roadmaps, and construct standard systems. Focus on standardization needs such as industrial metaverse technical architecture, system integration and interoperability, and data asset exchange, and develop key standards in basic, technical, and application categories" [2]. Simultaneously, track foreign standards dynamics in the metaverse field in real-time and ensure good communication and alignment with foreign standards.

Third, cultivate application scenarios. Focus on channels such as R&D design, production assembly, remote collaboration, sales, and training in industry, as well as subdivided fields like industrial culture digital collections and digital humans, to promote industrial metaverse innovation. Relying on manufacturing transformation and digital China construction, promote large-scale application of industrial metaverse in industrial manufacturing, metallurgy, agriculture and forestry, ports, mining, aerospace, energy, transportation, underwater engineering, and other scenarios, enhancing the depth of industrial metaverse application. Drive industrial metaverse development through scenario application, achieve digital transformation and quality and efficiency improvement, and promote the realization of China's manufacturing powerhouse and intelligent manufacturing goals.

Fourth, construct industrial ecology. Build an open, competitive, green, innovative, and sustainable industrial metaverse ecosystem, strengthen industrial metaverse system operation service industries, and significantly enhance industrial chain supply chain resilience. Establish industrial metaverse empowerment innovation centers in key industrial cities, forming a number of influential and distinctive industrial metaverse industry clusters.

(3) Various Scenarios of Industrial Metaverse Application in Manufacturing Processes

Traditional industrial manufacturing processes include design, production, sales, and application. In the metaverse era, marketing becomes more important, and personalized production and order-based production will account for an increasing proportion. Internet-based supply chain collaborative manufacturing, regional collaborative manufacturing, remote manufacturing, and even transnational manufacturing and cloud manufacturing will become trends. In the metaverse era, information about industrial products will undergo tremendous changes, from informatization to digitalization, meaning information becomes more precise, shifting from qualitative to quantitative. Information integrity, timeliness, and real-time capabilities will all be significantly improved. Due to enhanced network capabilities, producers can establish stronger communication scenarios and better communication modes with customers and consumers, achieving better communication results. Previously, two-dimensional drawings were transmitted; in the future, three-dimensional models may be transmitted, including motion models to express product functions and simulation models to express product stiffness and strength. During manufacturing, customers and consumers can monitor production progress in real-time; producers can handle problems promptly to avoid larger-scale losses; if new ideas emerge, they can be communicated and implemented in a timely manner. In the product application stage, Internet, IoT, and mobile network technologies can be utilized to achieve the transition from digital twins to cyber-physical systems, enabling real-time, low-latency remote simulation, control, and maintenance.

First, new marketing models. When customers purchase products, their core need is to satisfy certain requirements. However, customer needs are often not definite, requiring communication between supply and demand parties. Communication content includes not only product information but also enterprise production capacity, management level, price, and cost. "For example, when CSR Ziyang Locomotive Company participated in a U.S. project bidding, it modeled according to product drawings provided by the U.S. side, conducted simulation analysis using finite element software, re-optimized product design, and finally won the order" [3]. In the metaverse era, communication with customers, production process control, and industrial product application services increasingly need to shift online. Therefore, industrial enterprises need to actively consider using virtualization technology to better showcase products, production capacity, and guarantee capabilities, thereby meeting customer needs and winning development opportunities for enterprises.

Second, design model innovation. Industrial products are often relatively complex, involving multiple fields, making product design a complex process that can be called an open complex giant system. Typical examples are personalized products and customer-customized products, where not all components need customization but must conform to external diversity and internal standardization, comprehensively considering product delivery time, quality, cost, and service convenience. Industrial product design is also a process. In the metaverse era, greater emphasis is placed on individual creativity, including not only customer and consumer needs but also ideas from middle and senior management and ordinary employees, gradually transforming from uncertainty to certainty. In the virtualization stage, this includes sketches, two-dimensional drawings, three-dimensional models, analysis models, and machining models. Actual production also often requires a process, as general enterprises will have prototype products, preliminary design products, and finalized products. In terms of digital technology, there is a need to deepen the application of software for three-dimensional design, assembly models, industrial styling, simulation analysis, and optimization design. Physically, there is a need to utilize camera cloud arrays, advanced network technology equipment, and large-screen display equipment to better showcase, interact, and experience, thereby obtaining better product design.

Third, from intelligent manufacturing to smart manufacturing. Generally speaking, the manufacturing process is a process of material change, including physical changes such as cutting, extrusion, boring, milling, and grinding, chemical changes such as pharmaceutical synthesis, and transportation changes involving geographical location shifts. In the information age, these change processes will also include information changes. At the same time, the manufacturing process is also a human operation process. Although currently some work no longer requires human participation, such as fully automated factories, this model applies only to the internally standardized parts of industrial products, not complete products. As complete industrial products, human participation is required.

1.5 Digital Twin as the Core Technology of the Industrial Metaverse

Digital twin systems utilize historical data and real-time data, employing new-generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics to digitally define and model the composition, characteristics, functions, and performance of physical entities. By constructing an equivalent mapping of physical entities in the information world, they enable simulation analysis and optimization of physical entities, helping users understand and manage the real world more efficiently. In the blueprint of the industrial metaverse, digital twin technology is crucial for manufacturing digital-intelligent transformation. Digital twin has eight key technologies that can be fully applied in the industrial field: First, multi-source heterogeneous data conversion and integration technology for complex equipment; second, geometric-physical-behavior-condition modeling technology for complex equipment; third, multi-performance coupling analysis technology for complex state digital twins; fourth, digital twin behavior simulation technology driven by big data; fifth, full lifecycle operation process simulation technology for complex equipment; sixth, intelligent workshop layout planning and production scheduling optimization technology; seventh, operational state visual analysis and intelligent fault prediction technology; eighth, augmented reality-based maintenance operation navigation technology [4]. "The experiences of the digital self in the metaverse merge with the experiences of the real self in the original reality. The digital self and the real self serve as subjects both relatively distinct and unified as one" [1]. The industrial metaverse is similar, where digital equipment (or scenarios) and real equipment (or scenarios) serve as subjects both relatively distinct and unified as one.

The combination of AI and digital twins enables real-time data analysis, thereby achieving predictive maintenance and reducing operational downtime. For example, Shanghai Automotive Gear Factory introduced GE Digital's Proficy Plant Applications (an industrial informatization solution designed to provide enterprises with capabilities for collecting data from production sites, analyzing information, and building digital twins) to establish process digital twins, increasing equipment utilization by 20% and reducing inspection costs by 40%. Tencent integrates digital twins with AI and cloud computing to help enterprises achieve predictive maintenance and efficient production line management, enhancing monitoring and simulation capabilities for production operations, promoting better decision-making and resource allocation, thereby reducing downtime and operational costs. Baosteel has introduced digital twin technology to construct virtual factories. These digital environments can replicate physical production lines, enabling synchronized transmission of drawings, documents, models, and engineering costs across different workshops. This approach has increased design efficiency by 60% and shortened construction periods by 21%, demonstrating substantial benefits of integrating digital twins into industrial operations. Through virtual factory implementation, Baosteel has achieved data-driven decision-making and quality control throughout the production process, with the integration of virtual and real showcasing the potential of the industrial metaverse in enhancing manufacturing efficiency and product quality. The foundational technology of digital twins is three-dimensional annotation technology, which uses physical and mathematical models to advance systems engineering. While digital twins' main purpose in the past was optimizing engineering applications, in the future metaverse, digital twin technology can achieve more objectives.

2. Guangzhou's Practice in Deep Digital-Physical Integration and Industrial Metaverse Development

The metaverse is becoming an important track for driving global digital economy development and digital technology innovation. Since 2021, multiple districts in Guangzhou have adapted measures to local conditions and made forward-looking layouts, comprehensively accelerating metaverse industry development and application to facilitate deep integration between digital technology and the real economy, demonstrating characteristics of "good foundation, early start, and initial effectiveness."

2.1 Guangzhou's Industrial Metaverse Has a Solid Development Foundation

(1) Hardware and Software Foundation, Exploring "Ultra-HD + VR Metaverse" Tracks

Guangzhou is home to over 6,932 digital product manufacturing enterprises and 3,796 computer software enterprises, with more than 40 enterprises in semiconductor discrete device manufacturing and wearable intelligent device manufacturing. There are 26 cloud computing enterprises in the database, and Huangpu District has gathered over 300 blockchain enterprises, forming an industrial cluster [5]. Nansha District has promoted the "certificate-free free trade zone" reform through blockchain technology, constructing government service infrastructure such as blockchain query and verification service platforms. Tianhe District has also begun constructing metaverse application scenarios based on blockchain technology, providing a solid foundation for industrial metaverse development.

Guangzhou ranks first in the CCID "2022 Top Ten New Display Cities," with over 100 major enterprises in the ultra-high-definition video industry. Its ultra-high-definition panel production capacity ranks second nationally, with Guangzhou's display module market share and 4K board shipments ranking first globally for consecutive years [5]. The city has achieved multiple national and world-leading innovations in core technology areas, forming a complete ultra-high-definition industrial chain from display panels, front-end recording, content production, content broadcasting to terminal products and industry applications. The industry development demonstrates distinct characteristics of large-scale core component manufacturing, broad display technology layout routes, and strong industrial cluster synergistic effects, becoming the core area of the national ultra-high-definition video industry development test zone and striving to build a world display capital and globally competitive ultra-high-definition video industry cluster. Guangzhou has become a national center for ultra-high-definition content production and aggregation, with abundant supply driving a vast new consumer market for terminal manufacturing and application expansion that must rely on innovation. Guangzhou's commercial 8K broadcast vehicle is equipped with "Starry Sky," China's first 8K+3D VR live broadcast shooting system, which opens up broad consumer markets with its professional-grade technology and content creation capabilities. "Starry Sky" combines high-resolution 8K, 3D, and VR technologies, enhancing clarity and stereoscopic effects to deliver authentic immersive experiences. This technological breakthrough breaks spatial limitations, restores scenes, and holds enormous market potential in live e-commerce, gaming, sports events, and many other fields [6]. Guangzhou's ultra-high-definition industry enterprises are competing to launch innovative products. Pearl River Digital has opened remote medical systems connecting 21 city health bureaus and 30 designated treatment hospitals; Internet backbone enterprises like NetEase and Kugou promote VR/AR industry clustering and integrated innovation; Huiyan Technology provides intelligent equipment covering robot assembly, labeling, and code reading applications [6]. Guangzhou is exploring tracks such as "ultra-high-definition + VR metaverse," unlocking potential application scenarios for ultra-high-definition in cultural and sports activities, remote medical care, and live e-commerce, continuously unlocking new markets.

(2) Guangzhou Focuses on Innovation to Break Through Artificial Intelligence Technology Bottlenecks

In April 2023, the Pazhou Algorithm Library officially launched, with the first batch of approximately 100 industrial algorithm models already settled. Guangzhou is building a high-level R&D platform system, creating a "1+6+N" innovation system led by the Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy, with six Guangdong provincial new-generation artificial intelligence open innovation platforms as the main body, and numerous key laboratories, new R&D institutions, and enterprise technology centers participating, promoting continuous breakthroughs in core technologies. "The brain-computer interface technology of the Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy leads nationally, having developed achievements such as brain-computer AI smart wards, meditation brain-computer interface interaction systems, and brain-computer fatigue driving warning systems" [7]. Guangzhou cultivates globally leading enterprises. It has established major artificial intelligence science and technology special projects, focusing on supporting applications and innovation platforms. In the intelligent manufacturing field, Guangzhou pioneered the "Four Modernizations" empowerment special action, creating four intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories as 2023 national intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories: Sinopec Guangzhou Petrochemical Branch, Guangzhou Tech-Long Packaging Machinery Company, Inpai Battery Technology Company, and Guangzhou Guanghe Technology Company. Additionally, 15 enterprises including Guangri Elevator, Guangzhou Shipyard International, and Schneider (Guangzhou) were listed in the "2023 Intelligent Manufacturing Excellent Scenarios List," ranking first in the province for intelligent manufacturing excellent scenario units. The smart medical field already has multiple smart hospitals; the smart city field has built the "Suizhiguan" smart city brain. Empowering industries with rich application scenarios, Guangzhou selected 100 typical cases of artificial intelligence application scenarios and released the "Top 30 Most Innovative Value Landing Cases" list, fully unleashing the leading demonstration power of leading enterprises.

Artificial intelligence development is gradually showing characteristics of strong application penetration, rapid technological innovation, and intense international competition, accelerating deep integration with industries and demonstrating powerful enabling effects. Guangzhou has made beneficial explorations in artificial intelligence industry development and built advantageous tracks. In recent years, Guangzhou has adhered to application traction, opening up four advantageous tracks of "vehicle-building-health-city" (intelligent manufacturing, intelligent driving, smart healthcare, smart city), cultivating unique artificial intelligence application scenarios and ecosystems. In April 2023, Baidu PaddlePaddle (Guangzhou) Artificial Intelligence Industry Empowerment Center landed in "Pazhou Algorithm Valley," aiming to empower industries in Guangzhou and even the Greater Bay Area, supporting enterprises and developers to bypass complex underlying technology research and achieve economical and convenient industry application implementation. Guangzhou's electronic information manufacturing industry leads nationally, with advantages such as long industrial chains, concentrated innovation elements, and rich application scenarios. "The comprehensive penetration of AI in Guangzhou's urban transportation and autonomous driving fields has also brought disruptive transformations; the world's first smart metro demonstration station has been built, with L4-level autonomous driving and drone technology leading the nation." This represents bold explorations by a batch of Guangzhou enterprises including Jiaodu Technology, WeRide, Pony.ai, and EHang Intelligent in the "AI + vehicle transportation" field. Guangzhou Radio Group, the "chief chain owner" of Guangzhou's artificial intelligence industry chain, plays a leading role in guiding the ecosystem, organizing various chain owner units in Guangzhou's artificial intelligence industry chain to create innovative application scenarios in their respective fields, driving a batch of new artificial intelligence scenarios to take root.

Currently, Guangzhou has cultivated and gathered a large number of excellent artificial intelligence enterprises such as Pony.ai, Zhijing Technology, RootCloud, and XAG. Artificial intelligence is one of the six core technologies of the metaverse (IoT, blockchain, interaction, network and computing, artificial intelligence, and electronic game technology), providing strong technical support for the metaverse. In the metaverse, artificial intelligence promotes natural language processing, achieving seamless communication and overcoming language barriers. AI protects the metaverse by detecting and mitigating potential threats, ensuring safe and reliable virtual spaces. It analyzes massive amounts of data from user interactions, environmental simulations, and virtual economies, continuously learning and adapting to support the dynamic development of the metaverse. The industrial metaverse relies on powerful cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence technologies to build comprehensive digital platforms that enable intelligence, efficiency, visualization, and remote operation in the industrial field. The industrial metaverse utilizes AI's virtual-real integration technology to seamlessly connect physical production equipment, production lines, and factories with virtual space, helping improve production efficiency, reduce costs, optimize resource allocation, and promote the development of intelligent manufacturing. Therefore, Guangzhou's achievements in artificial intelligence technology and industry provide strong support for industrial metaverse development and lay a solid foundation for the industrial metaverse to empower new industrialization. In October 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the "Intelligence Empowers Hundred Scenarios" list for national artificial intelligence innovation application pilot zones, with Guangzhou having 14 artificial intelligence application scenarios selected, ranking first in the province. These included Guangzhou Siasun Robot Automation Company's gas station robot intelligent refueling scenario, Guangzhou Radio and Television Information Security Company's Shenshan Smart Highway digital twin system scenario, and Guangzhou Boyit Intelligent Technology Company's manufacturing production process digital-intelligent scenario. The selection aimed to promote the development of national artificial intelligence innovation application pilot zones, drive artificial intelligence technology and product application through scenario construction, and promote intelligent technology empowerment of the real economy. In the future, according to the requirements of Guangzhou's "Four Modernizations" Empowerment Platform Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Manufacturing Development, Guangzhou will use the "Four Modernizations" (digitalization, networking, intelligence, and greening) empowerment platform as the starting point to create more application scenario benchmarks and promote the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies and products in Guangzhou.

(3) Guangzhou Has Built Advantageous Tracks in Industrial Internet

Artificial intelligence has brought the industrial Internet into its "second half." RootCloud's industrial Internet platform can perform real-time optimization and management of production anywhere in the world, achieving full-factor transparency of machines, workers, materials, and environments. This is called the "transparent factory." AI technology ensures global real-time connectivity and significantly reduces connection costs. Through big data modeling, it creates "digital twins" for equipment and achieves precise management and intelligent decision-making through AI vision and other technologies. Not only in the manufacturing field, as the chain owner of Guangzhou's key industrial chain of "software and information innovation," RootCloud continues to empower multiple industrial clusters in Guangdong including small home appliances, customized home furnishing, and textile and apparel, empowering industry "intelligent manufacturing" upgrades with new AI technologies. In 2023, RootCloud released an industrial Internet intelligent operating system for different scenarios, which can help enterprises build intelligent factories and digital enterprises based on AI algorithms, and assist leading enterprises and local governments in building intelligent industrial chain clusters.

On November 13, 2024, at the 2024 China (Jiangxi) Industrial Internet Innovation Development Conference and Platform Empowering SMEs Digital Transformation event, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially announced the "2024 Cross-Industry and Cross-Domain Industrial Internet Platform Dynamic Evaluation Results," with 49 industrial Internet platforms selected. Among them, three platform companies are headquartered in Guangzhou: Guangdong Yixun Technology Company, Guangdong SIE Information Technology Company, and RootCloud Company. Additionally, eight "dual-cross" industrial Internet platforms have registered branches in Guangzhou: G-CREATE, Midea Cloud, Huawei FusionPlant, Tencent WeMake, Foxconn FiiCloud, Guangzhou Alibaba Cloud, Baidu Intelligent Cloud (Guangzhou), and iFLYTEK South China Company. Guangzhou also has dozens of professional (or characteristic) industrial Internet platforms. These Internet platforms serve as the digital foundation for implementing the "Four Modernizations" and promoting the industrial metaverse, currently providing digital-intelligent services to tens of thousands of industrial enterprises in Guangzhou. Among them, G-CREATE was honored as one of the Top 30 Chinese Large Model Industry Emerging Enterprises in 2023. In August 2023, G-CREATE launched the OctopusGPT industrial intelligent large model engine base, designed to help industrial enterprises accelerate the realization of intelligent production and operations. Inspired by the biological characteristics of octopuses, the model learns and simulates various rules and processes in industrial production to achieve comprehensive optimization and intelligent control of industrial production processes, helping industrial enterprises improve quality, reduce costs, and increase efficiency in various scenarios including R&D, production, supply, sales, service, and management.

(4) Digital Twins Empower Industrial Transformation and Support Smart City Construction

Enterprises in Guangzhou's power, petrochemical, manufacturing, transportation, and many other fields have begun exploring and applying digital twins, with some already operating maturely. State Grid Guangzhou Power Supply Company uses digital twin technology to construct digital twins of virtual power grids from information data streams in power grid operations, perceiving and detecting the operational status of physical power grids, predicting development trends, and optimizing operational strategies. Manufacturing enterprises such as Midea Guangzhou Factory, BAIC Guangzhou Factory, and LG Electronics Guangzhou Factory apply digital twin technology throughout the entire lifecycle of industrial products, including design, production, testing, and maintenance. They perform R&D design operation verification to shorten R&D cycles and improve efficiency, simulate equipment operating status to achieve predictive maintenance and fault diagnosis, and optimize production lines.

Guangzhou Jiaodu Technology Company fully utilizes digital twin technology to achieve integrated dynamic perception mapping, online real-time rendering, and joint simulation deduction. This technology has been applied in traffic management, urban safety, and emergency management. Through strategic cooperation with Unity, a global leading 3D game engine provider (a real-time 3D interactive content creation and operation platform that enables creators in game development, art, architecture, automotive design, and film to turn creativity into reality), Jiaodu Technology has successfully built a "three-dimensional spatial baseboard" for refined urban governance and smart city construction, providing a solid foundation for urban development. Based on this baseboard, Jiaodu Technology has launched application platforms for different industries.

In the rail transit field, the company uses digital twin technology to achieve real-time monitoring and operation management inside stations, greatly improving operation and maintenance efficiency and enhancing training quality for technical personnel. Additionally, Jiaodu Technology has developed the "Urban Traffic Brain" for urban transportation and smart city safety, as well as "Video Cloud" and "Urban Emergency Brain." Through joint simulation deduction and precise early warning decision-making, these technologies achieve highly realistic real-scene 3D maps, providing strong support for urban management. With its硬核 technical capabilities, Jiaodu Technology promotes metaverse development in the B-end field [8].

2.2 Districts Feature Distinctive Industrial Metaverse Development

(1) Zengcheng District Focuses on Developing Metaverse-Related Technology Industries

According to the Zengcheng Economic and Technological Development Zone Industrial Development Plan (2023-2035), Zengcheng District makes forward-looking layouts for new energy storage, intelligent equipment and robots, artificial intelligence and information technology, quantum technology, and metaverse industries, with the latter three being related to the metaverse. In the field of intelligent equipment and robots, as an important area for Guangzhou's development of intelligent equipment and robots, Zengcheng District has enterprises such as Guangdong Hanhe HAN's Robot, China Automotive Research and Test Center, Borch Intelligent Equipment, and Guangdong Haiyu Intelligent Equipment. The Zengcheng District government has introduced multiple policy measures to strongly support the development of the intelligent equipment and robot industry. In artificial intelligence and information technology, Zengcheng Development Zone has gathered a batch of industry-leading enterprises including Zengxin, Yuehai, Super Vision, and Visionox, forming a good industrial foundation. Among them, the Zengxin project is committed to building China's first professional customized 12-inch intelligent sensor chip manufacturing enterprise, while Yuehai has 8-inch/12-inch TSV sensor packaging projects. Zengcheng District's metaverse industry development is relatively active, having promoted the creation of five industrial research institutes including the Metaverse Industry College and five Qiaomengyuan innovation and entrepreneurship stations including the Smart Home Standards Center [9].

(2) Huangpu District Strongly Supports Metaverse Empowerment of Traditional Industries

In December 2021, the first metaverse research institute in the Greater Bay Area landed in Huangpu. Huangpu District focuses on "metaverse core industrial chain + talent metaverse + enterprise metaverse + urban metaverse." As Guangzhou's main engine for scientific and technological innovation and main front for reform and opening up, in April 2022, Huangpu District released the first metaverse special support policy in the Greater Bay Area—the Guangzhou Huangpu District and Guangzhou Development Zone Measures for Promoting Metaverse Innovation and Development, focusing on digital twins, human-computer interaction, VR/AR/MR (virtual reality/augmented reality/mixed reality), and other fields. Additionally, it implements a "listing and ranking" system for metaverse key technologies, offering up to 10 million yuan in rewards for successfully conquered projects. As the core carrier area for China's third integrated circuit pole, Huangpu District has a relatively complete metaverse ecological industrial chain, with an industrial scale foundation exceeding 100 billion yuan [10]. In November 2023, the Greater Bay Area Metaverse Innovation Demonstration Center opened in Huangpu District, marking a new starting point for Huangpu's metaverse industry. Huangpu District will target breakthrough and disruptive digital technologies and core equipment in metaverse technology as its main development track, support metaverse empowerment of traditional industries, and build a new highland for digital economy industry development.

(3) Nansha District Strives to Build a Metaverse Innovation Development Highland

Nansha District makes forward-looking layouts and takes swift action, regarding metaverse industry development as an important抓手 for seizing new opportunities in the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation to boost digital economy development. In March 2022, the Guangzhou Metaverse Innovation Alliance, jointly initiated by Chenjing Technology, NetEase Smart Enterprise, 37 Interactive Entertainment, Nined Digital, and Daxizhou, was established in Nansha. The alliance aims to comprehensively enhance the strategic, systematic, and collaborative nature of the metaverse industry, accelerate the implementation of industrial metaverse, commercial metaverse, financial metaverse, educational metaverse, cultural metaverse, and big health metaverse applications, and build a metaverse consensus circle. In July 2022, the Nansha Metaverse Industry Agglomeration Zone was officially unveiled, and Nansha released the "Nine Metaverse Measures." With enterprises settling in succession, the agglomeration zone has formed a preliminary agglomeration effect, with settled enterprises covering different links of the metaverse industry including underlying architecture, hardware equipment, digital models, and digital content, which is conducive to forming a metaverse industry ecosystem. By the end of 2023, 22 metaverse enterprises including Dingli Technology, FakeArt, and Guangdong Yongtai Technology had settled in [11].

Nansha supports metaverse industry development from nine aspects: technology research support, innovation platform funding, industrial agglomeration support, R&D investment subsidies, application scenario construction, innovation ecosystem building, talent introduction subsidies, technology finance support, and intellectual property promotion. Among them, for metaverse scientific research platforms with significant scientific and technological innovation support functions, each platform can receive up to 200 million yuan in funding support, and metaverse technology-based SMEs in the agglomeration zone can enjoy rent-free space for up to three years. Nansha District uses "eight measures" as the抓手 to strive to build Nansha into a metaverse innovation development highland: establishing a metaverse innovation alliance, planning a metaverse industry agglomeration zone, introducing a policy supporting metaverse innovation and development, building a metaverse application experience center, building a high-end metaverse research platform, establishing a metaverse venture capital fund, holding a metaverse innovation and entrepreneurship competition, and creating a batch of characteristic metaverse application scenarios [12].

15 Guangzhou Enterprises Enter China's Metaverse Potential Enterprise List, Ranking Fourth Nationally

Data shows that in 2023, the hardware sector accounted for 83.89% of total investment and financing in the metaverse field [12]. The 2023 Hurun China Metaverse Potential Enterprises List identifies the 200 Chinese enterprises with the greatest development potential in the metaverse field. Among them, the Greater Bay Area has 50 enterprises listed, accounting for 25% of the national total. Guangzhou has 15 enterprises listed, including 37 Interactive Entertainment, CloudWalk Technology, Alpha Data, GRG Banking Equipment, XPeng Motors, Focus Media, GAC Aion, and Zhongxu Future (in 2024, the Greater Bay Area had 54 enterprises listed; Guangzhou's listed enterprises remained the same as in 2023, see Appendix 1 [TABLE:1]), ranking fourth among cities nationwide. Among them, 37 Interactive Entertainment focuses on metaverse games and digital collections, CloudWalk Technology on 3D real-scene VR guidance technology, Alpha Data on data centers, GRG Banking Equipment on virtual digital humans and virtual banks, XPeng Motors on brand experience spaces, Focus Media on metaverse open communities, GAC Aion on product release applications and intelligent connected vehicles, and Zhongxu Future on trendy gaming platforms [13].

(1) GAC Aion Provides Intelligent Connectivity for the Metaverse Era—5G+V2X

GAC Aion is a representative enterprise in Guangzhou's scientific and technological innovation field and the core carrier of GAC Group's "new four modernizations" transformation. The GAC Intelligent Connected New Energy Vehicle Industrial Park focuses on three major areas: "intelligent manufacturing + innovative R&D + automotive town," creating a "world-class automotive Silicon Valley" that showcases China's new energy vehicle intelligent manufacturing strength to the world. Guangzhou has also pioneered the "Four Modernizations" empowerment special action, cultivating "Four Modernizations" platforms for "digital transformation, networked collaboration, intelligent upgrading, and green improvement" to empower manufacturing transformation and upgrading. GAC Aion was the first in the industry to achieve large-scale customized production, with one new energy vehicle rolling off the line every 53 seconds. It is currently the most digitally and intelligently advanced production factory and ecological factory in the new energy vehicle industry, thus being selected as the first "Lighthouse Factory" in the new energy vehicle industry by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

GAC Aion's 5G+V2X intelligent connectivity technology not only enables system control between vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure to meet intelligent driving scenario needs but also provides in-vehicle entertainment information, remote diagnostic services, shared mobility platforms, and other functions to enhance user experience and convenience, meeting intelligent living scenario needs. Additionally, the development of autonomous driving industries can provide solutions for problems that cannot currently be solved by single-vehicle intelligence. 5G+V2X has become an important direction for future automotive development. GAC Aion's 5G+V2X technology will solve pain points in assisted autonomous driving. The benefits of 5G technology for intelligent electric vehicles are mainly reflected in three aspects: First, 5G technology empowers urban roads and other application scenarios, accelerating autonomous driving development through V2X vehicle-road collaborative technology; second, it promotes the development of intelligent cockpits; third, it facilitates over-the-air software upgrades. Currently, the global connected vehicle industry ecosystem continues to enrich and improve, with the penetration rate of new vehicles equipped with intelligent connectivity functions exceeding 45% globally, expected to reach nearly 60% by 2025 [14]. On April 7, 2024, DiDi Autonomous Driving and GAC Aion jointly established a joint venture—Guangzhou Andi Technology Co., Ltd. This is the first joint venture established in China between an L4 (fully autonomous driving without driver operation, requiring regulated speeds) autonomous driving company and a vehicle enterprise to create Robotaxi (autonomous taxi) mass-produced vehicles. Its first vehicle model has completed product definition and is undergoing joint review of design styling, with plans for mass production next year [15].

(2) Midea Guangzhou Factory Creates an Intelligent Ecosystem with the Industrial Metaverse

Located in Nansha District, Midea's household air conditioner Guangzhou factory was named a "Lighthouse Factory" by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Midea Group was listed in the 2023 Hurun China Metaverse Potential Enterprises List. The group has applied industrial metaverse technologies such as industrial simulation and digital twins, intelligent production scheduling, machine vision inspection, industrial robots, logistics robots, financial robots, industrial Internet platforms, and digital twin parks to its Guangzhou Nansha factory, achieving remarkable results. On the production line, orange robots wave their mechanical arms to perform various processing procedures, AGV robot trolleys on the ground loaded with various raw materials and components shuttle flexibly between production lines, and aerial logistics tracks automatically transport semi-finished products to the next process. At the end of the workshop, there is also an "unmanned" area—the injection molding smart dark workshop, an intelligent automated unmanned zone where dozens of 2-meter-high large KUKA robots quietly perform injection molding operations.

Since the factory began its intelligent manufacturing transformation and upgrading in 2016 and the automatic production line was built and put into operation, unit costs have been reduced by 14%, order delivery time shortened by 56%, and labor efficiency increased by 28%. Since the industrial Internet was launched in 2018, the annual air conditioner output of Midea's household air conditioner Guangzhou factory has increased from 3 million sets before the intelligent manufacturing transformation to 8 million sets currently. Midea has deeply embedded digitalization into its intelligent manufacturing industrial ecosystem. The Nansha Industrial Park produces 70-80% of its air conditioners for export, mainly to Europe, America, India, the Middle East, and other countries and regions.

(3) Guangzhou Shipyard Uses VR/AR and Other Industrial Metaverse Technologies to Improve Ship Design Efficiency

In 2018, Guangzhou Shipyard International proposed the concept of "Digital Guangzhou Shipyard." By optimizing and improving informatization connectivity capabilities in R&D design, production manufacturing, and operation management, it has become a "pioneer" in digital transformation of the shipbuilding industry. Guangzhou Shipyard cooperated with Huawei (Nansha) Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center, relying on Huawei Cloud's digital diagnosis and planning solutions to identify the crux of its own digital construction, efficiently upgrade enterprise technical architecture, standardize data governance systems, and comprehensively sort out the strategic positioning and core development direction of digital transformation. After launching Huawei Cloud RPA process robots, by replacing manual completion of financial center operations with high frequency and repetitiveness, the company helped reduce repetitive manual data management work by over 90%, shortening the original data report processing work of more than three days to within half an hour, with efficiency improvements exceeding 20 times, further enhancing financial center office efficiency and quality, optimizing departmental workflows, and opening a new path for intelligent services in Guangzhou Shipyard's business departments. On the other hand, Guangzhou Shipyard promotes the optimization and construction of R&D design platforms, resource integration platforms, intelligent manufacturing platforms, and comprehensive management platforms, helping various business departments and senior management fully perceive enterprise operation status, and assisting enterprise scientific decision-making through analysis, prediction, and algorithm models, achieving automated, intelligent, and smart enterprise operations, effectively enhancing core competitiveness. Guangzhou Shipyard currently has over 60% of its orders as high-tech, high-value-added new green ship types such as LNG dual-fuel and methanol dual-fuel powered vessels, which are inseparable from Guangzhou Shipyard's continuous promotion of "green factory" construction. To further improve work efficiency, Guangzhou Shipyard's R&D department uses VR/AR and 3D modeling technology for digital modeling of ship design, improving design efficiency [16].

Since 2021, Guangzhou Shipyard International has successively explored various high-end, green ship type "tracks" such as LNG dual-fuel oil tankers, car carriers, large container ships, and icebreaking research vessels, holding the world's top position in orders for LNG dual-fuel vessels and car carriers, and ranking as a domestic leader and world forefront in high-tech, high-value-added shipbuilding fields such as liquid cargo ships, passenger roll-on/roll-off ships, semi-submersible ships, research vessels, and polar vessels. As of the end of October 2024, Guangzhou Shipyard International held over 84 ship orders with a total value exceeding 50 billion yuan, with delivery dates scheduled through 2028. Among them, orders for medium and high-end ship types account for over 90% of the total value. In the first half of 2024, operating revenue, main business profits, and business undertaking increased by 21.4%, 269.3%, and 25% year-on-year respectively, with various operating indicators exceeding scheduled progress, multiple tasks exceeding annual targets, and annual ship and marine delivery tasks completed ahead of schedule, achieving the best performance in nearly 10 years [17].

(4) CloudWalk Technology Focuses on Core Technology, 37 Interactive Entertainment Invests in Related Fields

In early 2022, 37 Interactive Entertainment (stock code: 002555) launched China's first metaverse game art gallery, located in the metaverse art community Meta Borderland, where users can control characters to tour the gallery through VR glasses. With games as its main business, 37 Interactive Entertainment has penetrated the virtual human field: at its 14th anniversary celebration, the virtual character "Cong Mei" debuted for the first time and appeared as the host at the brand event. In March 2023, "Cong Mei" also received the first batch of digital resident certificates from Haizhu District, Guangzhou. 37 Interactive Entertainment also invests in other metaverse fields, involving upstream and downstream of the industrial chain such as AIGC, optical modules, AR smart glasses, VR/AR content, cloud gaming, spatial intelligence technology, and brain-computer interfaces, actively exploring various metaverse fields. In 2024, 37 Interactive Entertainment achieved operating revenue of 17.441 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.40%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.673 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.54% (Pan Jian, 2025) [18].

CloudWalk Technology launched a human-computer collaborative open platform in Guangzhou as early as 2020. By connecting business data, hardware equipment, and software applications, it enables artificial intelligence to serve as infrastructure for the metaverse, laying the foundation for achieving "AI thinking and acting like humans." The company has made certain progress in metaverse core technology, AI ethics governance, and industry applications, and will further integrate metaverse and AI technology to enter a new stage of pragmatic development. On May 18, 2023, CloudWalk Technology held the "AI Empowering Digital China Industry Forum and 2023 CloudWalk Technology Human-Computer Collaborative Conference" in Guangzhou. The company cooperated with Huawei Technologies to launch the Ascend AI large model training and inference integrated machine, jointly creating large model integrated products. With "AI Industry Elves," the company was successfully selected as one of the 50 most noteworthy AIGC (generative artificial intelligence) enterprises in China. The company focuses on building a multimodal large model base and constructing a virtual digital human capability platform, providing low-cost and high-efficiency customized services for personalized needs in smart government affairs, virtual customer service, animation and games, video creation, and other industries. In manufacturing, CloudWalk Technology uses Jiangsu Jinshiyuan Liquor Company as a seed customer to jointly build an intelligent manufacturing industry large model and supporting intelligent maintenance companion system, forming replicable and promotable industry solutions that will be widely applicable to production-oriented manufacturing enterprises, especially in new consumption and new energy fields.

(5) 16 Guangdong Enterprises Selected as National "Excellent-Level Smart Factories"

Smart factories are the main carriers of intelligent manufacturing and the main battlefield for digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of manufacturing. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, State Administration for Market Regulation, and National Data Administration jointly launched the 2024 Smart Factory Gradient Cultivation Action to support enterprises in building basic-level, advanced-level, excellent-level, and leading-level smart factories. In early 2025, the 2024 Excellent-Level Smart Factory list was officially released. To date, over 30,000 basic-level smart factories, more than 1,200 advanced-level smart factories, and over 230 excellent-level smart factories have been built nationwide. According to statistics, these excellent-level smart factories cover over 80% of manufacturing industry categories, with nearly 2,000 excellent scenarios including intelligent warehousing, online intelligent detection, product digital R&D design, intelligent production scheduling, and quality traceability and analysis improvement. "The average product R&D cycle is shortened by 28.4%, production efficiency is improved by 22.3%, defect rate is reduced by 50.2%, and carbon emissions are reduced by 20.4%, demonstrating remarkable quality, efficiency, and carbon reduction achievements, representing the leading level of digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of Chinese manufacturing enterprises" [19]. Guangdong Province has 16 enterprises selected as excellent-level smart factories, including six in Guangzhou (see Appendix 2 [TABLE:2]). These selected excellent-level smart factories have all adopted industrial metaverse-related technologies, representing new quality productive forces in the Greater Bay Area and indicating the future development direction of new quality productive forces in the region.

This list released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments is based on the Smart Manufacturing Capability Maturity Model (GB/T39116-2020). Selected excellent-level smart factories have reached level three or above in smart manufacturing capability, demonstrating their advancement in flexible production, informatization application, and intelligent levels. Smart factory selection is not only recognition of enterprise production capacity but also affirmation of enterprise intelligent transformation efforts. A large number of Guangdong enterprises entering the national excellent-level and advanced-level smart factory ranks will provide new momentum and direction for digital transformation of manufacturing in the Greater Bay Area.

3. Reflections and Recommendations on Industrial Metaverse Boosting Guangzhou's New Industrialization Development

3.1 Reflections on Industrial Metaverse Boosting Guangzhou's New Industrialization Development

The report of the 20th CPC National Congress states: "We must adhere to focusing the development of the economy on the real economy, promote new industrialization, and accelerate the building of a manufacturing powerhouse, a quality powerhouse, a aerospace powerhouse, a transportation powerhouse, a cyber powerhouse, and Digital China." Currently, digitalization, networking, and intelligence are irreversibly changing human society and helping manufacturing innovate and transform.

(1) Using Industrial Metaverse to Boost New Industrialization Development

Guangzhou should accelerate the digital transformation and reform of manufacturing enterprises' entire business processes, including R&D design, production manufacturing, operation management, and market services, and continuously promote in-depth digital-intelligent transformation. The industrial metaverse will boost transformation and reform of Guangzhou's manufacturing enterprises, helping them integrate value-added services that can bring market value into all aspects of the product lifecycle, thereby boosting new industrialization development. The Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovative Development of Future Industries by Seven Ministries and Commissions including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT Joint Science [2024] No. 12) proposes: "Break through super terminals with explosive potential such as high-level intelligent connected vehicles and metaverse entrances, and build new advantages in industrial competition" and "Accelerate the promotion of emerging scenarios such as industrial metaverse and biological manufacturing, driving manufacturing transformation and upgrading through scenario innovation" [20]. This points out the direction for Guangzhou to use industrial metaverse to help manufacturing transform and upgrade.

(2) Industrial Metaverse as a New Frontier for Digital Economy Innovation and Industrial Chain Expansion

"The metaverse points to the 'ultimate form' of the Internet, a more concrete综合体 of the digitalized future, and a new frontier for digital economy innovation and industrial chain expansion. As the maturity of AR, VR, 5G, cloud computing, and other technologies improves and immersion, participation, and permanence are achieved, the metaverse will reconstruct social, lifestyle, and economic and social systems in the digital world" [21]. Guangzhou should build a metaverse-centered industrial chain to seize the initiative in international competition. It should adhere to innovation-driven development, release the integrated innovation momentum of the metaverse, and drive the cross-border integrated development of related technologies. It should accelerate breakthroughs in key metaverse core technologies and promote the industry to accelerate its march toward high-end development. It should adhere to scenario traction, drive metaverse technology and product application through scenario construction, and form a high-level development situation where demand pulls supply and supply creates demand.

3.2 Policy Recommendations

(1) Improve Top-Level Design and Strengthen Overall Coordination

First, improve the promotion system. It is recommended that municipal industrial and information technology and science and technology management departments, focusing on "implementing the 'Five Major Enhancement Actions' of large industries, large platforms, large projects, large enterprises, and large environments to promote high-end, intelligent, and green development of manufacturing," reasonably plan the development of industrial metaverse in urban districts. Strengthen synergy among industrial, innovation, fiscal, financial, and regional policies, and coordinate efforts in metaverse technology research, standard formulation, and governance system construction. Optimize industrial layout and promote metaverse technology innovation and industrial development according to local conditions. Support districts in researching and formulating implementation plans for industrial metaverse in manufacturing, and consider incorporating industrial metaverse into the overall digital reform—the digital economy system.

Second, advance research and formulation of laws, regulations, and standards. Encourage universities, research institutes, enterprise teams, and think tank experts to join the "Guangzhou Industrial Metaverse Alliance," focusing on research on industrial metaverse applications in manufacturing digital transformation and industrial asset ownership. Plan metaverse regulatory regulations, pay attention to key issues such as technology enterprise monopolies, and improve the regulatory policy and standard system for promoting high-quality manufacturing development.

Third, explore a policy environment that encourages innovation, and establish and improve an inclusive, prudent, and flexible market access and regulatory environment. In terms of policy environment, Guangzhou has already gathered resources from all parties to promote the integration of the "four chains" of innovation, industry, capital, and talent. To urgently address enterprise funding needs, it should increase the intensity of special financing services such as "AI loans," promote the listing of a batch of promising AI enterprises, formulate and enrich the catalog of urgently needed talents for AI and metaverse industries, further improve talent introduction mechanisms, and build a national overseas talent offshore innovation and entrepreneurship base. It should encourage domestic enterprises and research institutions to go global and deeply participate in global scientific research collaboration, encourage multinational companies and foreign research institutions to build metaverse-related technology R&D centers in Guangzhou, and promote joint technology R&D and industrialization applications by enterprises inside and outside the city.

(2) Construct Comprehensive Scenario Demonstrations

First, support districts to take the lead in trials, build and optimize the urban "industrial brain," explore and excavate industrial metaverse scenarios, support the establishment of "scenario innovation promotion centers" with third-party institutions, and form a batch of replicable and promotable experience and practices. Second, support enterprise innovation and exploration. Encourage digital enterprises such as Tencent, Huawei, Foxconn Industrial Internet, RootCloud, Midea Cloud, and G-CREATE to conduct industrial metaverse solution research with Guangzhou manufacturing enterprises. Leverage the demonstration and leading role of "lighthouse factories" such as Midea's Nansha Factory and intelligent manufacturing factories in the city. Support enterprises identified by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as "new-generation information technology and manufacturing integration development demonstration" enterprises, including Guangri Elevator Industrial Company, Guangzhou Jifan Computer Company, Guangzhou Tech-Long Packaging Machinery Company, Guangzhou Gizwits IoT Technology Company, Guangdong Tengyi Technology Company, and Foshan Jiyan Intelligent Technology Company, to conduct scenario trial practices, striving to form a batch of solutions in key industries such as automotive, electronics, shipbuilding, textile and apparel, and food processing. Third, actively layout industrial metaverse-related infrastructure. Guangzhou should deeply promote the construction of 5G, computing power infrastructure, industrial Internet, IoT, connected vehicles, and gigabit optical networks, make forward-looking layouts for key technology research on 6G, satellite Internet, and direct mobile phone-to-satellite connections, and build a new type of digital infrastructure that is high-speed, ubiquitous, integrated, interconnected, intelligent, green, and safe and efficient. It should organize advanced research on technologies such as advanced wireless communications, new network architectures, cross-domain integration, space-air-ground integration, and network and data security, forming characteristic applications represented by holographic communications and digital twins. It should organize high-end industry-university-research institutions to jointly develop ultra-large-scale new intelligent computing centers, accelerate breakthroughs in cluster low-latency interconnect networks and heterogeneous resource management technologies, build ultra-large-scale intelligent computing centers to meet large model iterative training and application inference needs. It should also prepare and promote pilot applications of the third-generation Internet in data exchanges, explore using blockchain technology to connect data across key industries and fields, research the third-generation Internet digital identity authentication system, establish data governance and transaction circulation mechanisms, and form replicable and promotable typical cases.

(3) Build a Collaborative Agglomeration Ecosystem

First, build regional characteristic metaverse industrial parks. Support future (high-end) industry pilot zones and new industry platforms as carriers to gather a batch of upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial metaverse industrial chain. Leverage Guangzhou's advantageous electronics manufacturing industry to guide the industry toward new terminals such as VR/AR/MR/XR, forming new hardware, creating new products, and enabling Guangzhou's electronics manufacturing industry to gain new growth points through new terminals. Simultaneously, leverage the technical and talent strengths of leading game and cultural creative enterprises to build metaverse platform entrances, construct virtual world operating environments, create conditions for the popularization of new terminals such as VR/AR/MR/XR, and build the foundation for metaverse industry development through software applications. Support Guangzhou industrial enterprises to explore metaverse applications in digital transformation. On the one hand, in six characteristic industry clusters including customized home furnishing, textile and apparel, beauty and daily chemicals, luggage and leather goods, jewelry, and food and beverages, explore the application of digital twin technology in design, production, and service based on industrial Internet platforms, creating a batch of benchmark enterprises for "digital twins + personalized customization." On the other hand, explore pilot construction of industrial metaverse platforms in the automotive industry, responsible for coordinating and maintaining the construction and operation of the automotive industrial metaverse platform, providing platform support for digital transformation of the automotive industry.

Second, strengthen regional collaboration. Support the construction of a batch of cross-regional joint laboratories and key common technology platforms. It is recommended to enrich Guangzhou software park planning, designate separate areas specifically for metaverse software industry development and incubation, establish a metaverse software fund, and cultivate and support metaverse software industry startups.

Third, actively hold skill competitions, seminars, exhibitions, and other activities in the industrial metaverse field to gather domestic and foreign expert talents and project resources, taking the lead in forming an industrial metaverse brand nationwide. Give full play to the role of relevant industry associations and other social organizations to promote advanced typical cases and create a good atmosphere for promoting industrial metaverse development.

(4) Build a Technology Research System

First, research and establish municipal-level industrial metaverse or future industry science and technology special projects, support existing municipal key R&D plans to expand industrial metaverse technology special projects, and focus on formulating support policies for key technologies such as high-end chip manufacturing, 3D virtualization modeling and production tools, AI blockchain, and 6G high-speed communications. Second, encourage joint technology research. The industrial metaverse is a systematic project; different universities, research institutions, and enterprise teams should be encouraged to form industrial innovation consortia to conduct joint integrated technology research. Third, build a batch of industrial metaverse research institutions. Drawing on the construction experience of future industry research institutes in developed countries and integrating regional new R&D institution construction models, encourage the building of interdisciplinary, large-scale collaboration, high-intensity industrial metaverse collaborative innovation basic platforms.

(5) Seize Opportunities Brought by Industrial Metaverse for New Quality Productive Forces Development and Build High-Quality Development Demonstrations

With the rapid development of science and technology, the metaverse, as the integrator of new-generation information technology, is gradually transforming from a science fiction concept into real-world applications, leading a revolutionary wave of new quality productive forces. The metaverse simulates the real world and comprehensively reshapes future business, lifestyle, and value creation models. The development of the industrial metaverse promotes productivity improvement and production form transformation, exerting profound impacts on related industrial chains and value distribution models. The industrial metaverse drives top-down updates and iterations of industrial chains, including updates of software and hardware equipment and innovation of service models. It makes connections between upstream and downstream of industrial chains closer and management collaboration more efficient, reshaping industrial chains and value distribution models. In summary, the industrial metaverse revolution brings infinite possibilities and challenges to new quality productive forces development. We must fully recognize and grasp these possibilities, actively respond to and solve challenges, and promote the sustained and healthy development of the industrial metaverse in the Greater Bay Area. Only in this way can we better utilize metaverse technology to promote new industrialization construction in the Greater Bay Area and even the progress of human society.

The development of the industrial metaverse provides many possibilities for the progress of new quality productive forces. The integration of the two promotes their own development while also bringing new development opportunities and challenges to all walks of life. On the one hand, the industrial metaverse provides diversified development directions for new quality productive forces; on the other hand, new quality productive forces strengthen the new kinetic energy of virtual-real integration in the industrial metaverse. As one of the forms of deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, the industrial metaverse is also a concept that is constantly enriched, improved, and developed, representing a dynamic evolution of digital survival that constantly discards the old and brings forth the new.

The industrial metaverse is a new spatiotemporal dimension for the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy, and a new path for manufacturing innovation and transformation. Guangzhou "must implement the pillar and beam project, cultivate and expand emerging industries such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles and biomedicine, make forward-looking layouts for future industries such as humanoid robots and low-altitude economy, and promote the optimization and upgrading of traditional industries" [22]. In the process of digital transformation, Guangzhou manufacturing enterprises should formulate feasible transformation plans based on their own digital technology application status and levels, and promote implementation step by step. They should actively explore the establishment of cross-regional and cross-platform collaborative innovation mechanisms for various industrial clusters, promote the integration and sharing of regional innovation elements, build a regional digital development ecosystem with collaborative, complementary, and supply-demand-driven regional manufacturing innovation, and enhance the collaborative supporting capabilities of regional industrial chain supply chains. They should consolidate the foundation for digital-intelligent innovation and development of manufacturing, and improve public service systems for standards, technology, talent, and capital.

In 2024, Guangdong's emerging industries such as semiconductors and integrated circuits, low-altitude economy, intelligent robots, and new energy continuously achieved new breakthroughs, forming a batch of subdivided industrial clusters with leading comprehensive strength. Integrated circuit output increased by 21%. The low-altitude economy accelerated its takeoff, with DJI occupying over 80% of the global civilian drone market, and EHang Intelligent's EH216-S becoming the world's first eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) to obtain airworthiness certification "three certificates." In 2024, the added value growth of intelligent robot and high-end equipment manufacturing industrial clusters reached 32.9% and 6.4% respectively. "Guangdong has introduced an overall plan for future industry development, targeting the 'seven major areas' of future intelligence, future life and health, and future energy to implement the 'seven major projects.' The core industrial scale of the artificial intelligence field has reached 180 billion yuan, with computing power scale and enterprise scale ranking among the top nationwide" [23]. The Guangdong Province Manufacturing High-Quality Development Promotion Regulations clearly state: "Support the formation of industry-education integration communities by higher education institutions, vocational schools (including technical schools), research institutions, and upstream and downstream enterprises in industrial chains. Support the construction of high-level vocational schools (including technical schools) and modern industrial colleges, and improve skill talent training models such as project-based, apprenticeship, and work-study alternation."

"The metaverse is not an endpoint but a development process—just like the slow process of adapting to one application after another year after year and gradually accepting a digital lifestyle. When we can replace real-world habits with corresponding digital methods, the metaverse will become more real (QuHarrison Terry et al., 2024)" [24]. The industrial metaverse is a booster for new quality productive forces and new industrialization in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As long as government, industry, academia, research, and application work together to promote industrial metaverse empowerment of manufacturing digital-intelligent transformation and drive manufacturing toward green and high-end development, Guangdong's manufacturing industry will surely become a demonstration area for high-quality development in the metaverse era and will certainly become a leading area for Chinese-style modernization in the Greater Bay Area!

Appendix 1: 2024 Hurun China Metaverse Potential Enterprises List—15 Guangzhou Enterprises Listed

No. Enterprise Metaverse Specific Measures Category City 1 37 Interactive Entertainment Ecosystem Application: Metaverse games and digital collections Media and Entertainment Guangzhou 2 CloudWalk Technology Underlying Technology: 3D real-scene VR guidance technology - Guangzhou 3 Alpha Data Platform Technology: Data center Software and Data Services Guangzhou 4 GRG Banking Equipment Ecosystem Application: Virtual digital human and virtual bank Software and Data Services Guangzhou 5 Jiaodu Technology Underlying Technology: Digital twin - Guangzhou 6 Focus Media Platform Technology: Metaverse open community - Guangzhou 7 GAC Aion Ecosystem Application: Product release application - Guangzhou 8 Haige Communication Underlying Technology: Motion simulation system - Guangzhou 9 YY Ecosystem Application: Cultural media application Media and Entertainment Guangzhou 10 CVTE Underlying Technology: Interactive intelligent technology - Guangzhou 11 Vipshop Ecosystem Application: Virtual makeup try-on application - Guangzhou 12 Pony.ai Underlying Technology: Visual computing - Guangzhou 13 XPeng Motors Ecosystem Application: Brand experience space - Guangzhou 14 Zhiguang Platform Technology: Blockchain Software and Data Services Guangzhou 15 Zhongxu Future Ecosystem Application: NFT trendy gaming platform Media and Entertainment Guangzhou

Source: Hurun Report. 2024 Hurun China Metaverse Potential Enterprises List [EB/OL]. (2024-08-29) [2025-08-10]. https://www.hurun.net/zh-CN/Info/Detail?num=4CABSB7NNU34

Appendix 2: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Excellent-Level Smart Factory (First Batch) Project Publicity List

Project Enterprise Integrated Energy and Environment Control Smart Factory for Refining and Chemicals China Science (Guangdong) Refining and Chemical Co., Ltd. Cloud-Native Smart Factory for Refining and Chemical Integration China National Petroleum Co., Ltd. Digital Twin-Based Smart Factory for Traditional Chinese Medicine China Resources Sanjiu Medical Co., Ltd. Full-Process Digital-Intelligent Control Smart Factory for Lithium Battery Products EVE Energy Co., Ltd. Full-Process Green and Low-Carbon Smart Factory for Air Conditioner Products Guangdong Midea Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd. Lean and Flexible Production Smart Factory for Ultra-High-Strength Steel Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. Full Value Chain Efficient Operation Smart Factory for Air Conditioner Products Guangzhou Hualing Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd. Full-Process Digital-Intelligent Control Smart Factory for High-End Elevators Hitachi Elevator (China) Co., Ltd. Green and Low-Carbon Smart Factory for Air Conditioner Products Gree Electric Appliances (Zhuhai Jinwan) Co., Ltd. Advanced Model-Driven Smart Factory for High-End Optical Lenses Carl Zeiss Optics (China) Co., Ltd. Multi-Dimensional Perception Collaborative Control Smart Factory for Refining and Chemicals China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation Guangzhou Branch End-to-End Quality Traceability Smart Factory for Power Batteries Inpai Battery Technology Co., Ltd. End-to-End Full-Process Digital Control for Steel Prefabricated Components China Construction Steel Structure Guangdong Co., Ltd. 5G-Based Full Lifecycle Management for Power Distribution Equipment Guangzhou Baiyun Electric Equipment Co., Ltd. Full Lifecycle Quality Control Smart Factory for Medical Equipment Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.

Source: Sina Finance. China Has Built Over 230 Excellent-Level Smart Factories, with Xiaomi, Li Auto, and Seres Selected [EB/OL]. (2025-02-09) [2025-07-28]. https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/digi/2025-02-09/doc-ineiwksh4809182.shtml

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