China'S first government endorsed virtual reality industry alliance was founded today in Beijing, which was expected to establish industry standards and a strong VR ecosystem in China.

The Industry of Virtual Reality Alliance or IVRA, authorized and supported by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, aims to enhance the development of the VR ecosystem in China by promoting technology innovation and the formulation of industrial standards, bridging hardware, software, content, platforms and industrial application.

More than 170 enterprises and institutions have confirmed joining IVRA, including firms including HTC, Alibaba, Huawei, JD.com, NetEase, Letv, iQiYi, Samsung, Nokia, AMD, NVIDIA and ARM; research centers and education institutions Peking University, Zhejiang University, Columbia University, Stanford University and the University of Washington; industrial parks and investment institutions such as China Nanchang VR Industrial Base, Shanghai Jinqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone and VR Venture.

HTC is committed to promoting VR technology innovation in China with accumulated experiences. It will also assist MIIT to formulate industry standards, Cher Wang, Chairwoman and CEO of HTC, said in a statement.

China has a great market potential for VR covering device makers, smartphone vendors and content providers, with a market value of 55 billion yuan (US$8.3 billion) by 2020, or a 36-fold jump from 2014, according to iResearch, a Shanghai-based research firm.

Top VR devices including HTC's Vive and Sony PlayStation VR have been available in China.

In addition, HTC collaborated with 37 globally leading venture capital firms to set up the VR Venture Capital Alliance (VRVCA.com), and aim to investing billions of dollars to promote the global VR industry.