Shanghai vows to take the lead in supporting the development of Non Fungible Tokens (NFT) as the municipal government voiced its ambition in a recently released official guideline.

The Shanghai municipal government said it "supports leading enterprises to explore and establish NFT trading platforms," according to the city's 14th Five Year Plan on digital economy development published this week. 

The guidelines came as China has been unequivocal in criticizing NFTs. In April, China's top financial associations published a notice warning the financial risks involved with blockchain-based digital tokens and NFTs. 

However, Shanghai aims to promote the city as one of the first Chinese cities to test NFT digital assets and related industries with a focus on exploring business models and its application for intellectual property protection. 

In a section on enhancing digital infrastructure, the guidelines said the city should "accelerate the exploration of digital transformation and digital technology applications in the fields of virtual digital assets, artworks, intellectual property, and games."

The guidelines also mention cultivating metaverse-related businesses, promoting research into core technologies such as avatars, virtual reality, mixed reality and 3D scanning. Virtual live shows, virtual idols and other forms of digital entertainment are also encouraged.

According to the plan, the city aims to increase the value of the digital economy by RMB 3 trillion ($446 billion) by the end of 2025, with aims to have it account for more than 60 percent of the city's overall economy