China to step up VR sector development

China will step up its push to develop the virtual reality sector after the industry jumped by 164 percent year-on-year to 16 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) in 2017, the country's top industry regulator said on Monday.

Luo Wen, vice-minister of Industry and Information Technology, said VR, as an important force in leading the world's new industrial revolution, integrates technologies in multiple fields.

"It will serve as a general platform to expand the human perception of space, enhance product features, enrich service content, and is likely to nurture a market worth trillions of yuan in the future. We need to ramp up resources to cultivate the research and development, as well as the application of the cutting-edge tech," Luo said at a press conference for the 2018 World Conference on the Virtual Reality Industry.

The World VR conference will be held in Nanchang, capital of East China's Jiangxi province, from Oct 19 to 21. Over 1,000 experts and industry enthusiasts from all over the world are expected to attend the annual event, which will play a central role in promoting global communication and exchange on VR.

According to MIIT, China has already made a string of advancements in VR, including both hardware and software.