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CAICT, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (中国信息通信研究院), plays a central role in the development, standardization, and governance of virtual humans in China. CAICT has led the drafting and international standardization of virtual human technologies, with proposals approved by the ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union). These standards address technical frameworks, application systems, evaluation criteria, and security requirements for digital humans. CAICT has also released white papers, such as the AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content) White Paper, and conducted nationwide assessments of virtual human product capabilities, safety, and ethical compliance.
Their work spans from high-precision 3D avatars and real-time interactive systems to generative AI models for content creation, promoting their use in sectors such as education, healthcare, media, e-commerce, and government services. The organization collaborates with ministries, local governments, and companies to drive innovation in digital humans, while also leading initiatives like the “Metaverse Case Collection” and “AI Medical Device Innovation” programs. CAICT emphasizes regulatory frameworks and responsible AI governance, ensuring that virtual humans are developed and deployed with safety, reliability, and compliance in mind.
The Digital Stage and Smart Cultural Museum Audiovisual System (数字舞台和智慧文博视听系统) is one of four designated categories within China's national Audiovisual Systems Typical Cases program, jointly administered by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Radio and Television Administration, the National Intellectual Property Administration, and China Media Group, with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology serving as secretariat. The category targets the fusion of audiovisual technology with cultural creativity, explicitly naming digital humans alongside immersive light shows, spatial light imaging, naked-eye 3D, AR, VR, motion capture, and professional audio as qualifying technologies. Cases are selected through a government-guided, enterprise-voluntary process involving provincial-level review and national expert evaluation, with recognition carrying the authority of five central ministries. The 2025 cycle confirmed at least three entries with direct digital human relevance: Shanghai Oriental Digital Shopping Commerce's mobile livestreaming solution built on digital human technology (entry 50), Hebei Broadcasting and Television Wireless Media's IPTV-deployed digital human Jixiang (entry 71), and Liaoning Beidou Cloud Digital Technology's multimodal digital human interaction application (entry 72). The broader category also included Daokeyun's AI metaverse platform, the Digital Palace Museum VR large-space project, and Guangxi Lvfa Yuanjing's AI cultural relic holographic cabinet, together positioning digital humans as one of several convergent immersive technologies the Chinese state is actively promoting for deployment in cultural heritage, tourism, and live performance contexts.