Beijing Digital Human Timeline

Notes:

Beijing has positioned itself as a national leader in the development of the digital human industry through a comprehensive innovation plan known as the Beijing Digital Human Industry Innovation and Development Action Plan (2022–2025). This policy aims to establish Beijing as a core hub for Internet 3.0 technologies by building a robust ecosystem that supports research, commercialization, and governance of digital humans. By 2025, the city aims to grow the industry to over 50 billion yuan in output, foster 1–2 digital human companies with revenues exceeding 5 billion yuan, and develop 10 major enterprises and 10 university-enterprise labs. The Beijing Digital Human Base, officially launched in Chaoyang District, serves as an industrial accelerator combining service platforms, physical infrastructure, support systems, and funding, and has already attracted 49 companies. As of early 2024, over 2,800 businesses in Beijing are engaged in digital human-related activities, with at least 217 focusing on core services. The government is actively integrating digital humans into public services, tourism, education, and media, with examples including AI digital tour guides, virtual financial assistants, and legal education avatars. Beijing has also hosted the China Digital Human Conference and is promoting applications such as AI anchors and AI-driven labor arbitration assistants.

The Beijing Digital Human Industry Innovation and Development Action Plan (2022–2025) is China’s first dedicated policy initiative to support the development of the digital human industry. Issued by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, it aligns with the national “14th Five-Year Plan” for digital economic growth. The plan sets a goal for the city’s digital human industry to surpass 50 billion yuan in output by 2025, fostering 1–2 leading enterprises with annual revenues over 5 billion yuan and 10 key enterprises with revenues over 1 billion yuan. It emphasizes the integration of digital humans into Internet 3.0 technologies and aims to build a full-chain innovation ecosystem including technical infrastructure, business models, and governance systems. A major step includes the establishment of the Beijing Digital Human Base in Chaoyang District, serving as an industrial accelerator and clustering hub for startups and enterprises. The policy supports R&D, commercial applications, public service deployment, and cross-sector integration of digital humans in areas such as finance, tourism, media, government services, and education. By early 2024, Beijing had over 2,800 companies involved in digital human-related business, with a significant portion still in the startup phase.