BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) – There is no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) is one of today’s global buzzwords. But the key question for China, the world’s second-largest economy, is how its AI ambitions will play out and reshape the country’s future growth path. The answer lies in a major national initiative known as “AI Plus.”
The “AI Plus” initiative unveiled by the 2024 Government Work Report is gaining momentum and emerging as a key priority for China’s social and economic development. Just recently, the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s recommendations for the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) included a call to “fully advance the ‘AI Plus’ initiative,” emphasizing its importance for the country’s future.
What does “AI plus” mean?
The “AI Plus” initiative aims to promote the broad and thorough integration of AI across all industries across China’s economy and society. It calls for using AI to reshape the way people produce and live, driving revolutionary advances in productivity through profound changes in production relations, and accelerating the emergence of new intelligent economies and societies characterized by human-machine collaboration, cross-sector integration, and shared innovation.
The recommendation document specifies these efforts in further detail. “We should lead the transformation of scientific research paradigms with AI, apply AI tools to industrial development, cultural advancement, public welfare initiatives, and social governance, and strive to dominate the industrial applications of AI,” the document says. “All these efforts will foster the empowerment of AI in all aspects of all sectors.”
Why is it important to China?
The official textbook, designed to help readers better understand the advisory document, explains why China is pursuing the “AI Plus” initiative in all aspects. According to the book, AI is a strategic technology that will drive a new scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation in the digital economy era. Although China ranks as one of the world leaders in AI development, it still faces deficiencies in basic theory and key core technologies. To address these challenges, the book points out that China needs to make full use of the “AI Plus” initiative, take advantage of its comprehensive industrial system, huge market scale, and rich application scenarios, and accelerate the progress of AI technology through practical application.
Additionally, AI is moving from the lab to the factory to everyday life, creating new momentum in development. Many countries have adopted AI development strategies and created new fields such as autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and brain-machine interfaces. As international competition intensifies, it is important for China to take the lead in the industrial application of AI technology. The “AI Plus” initiative is expected to further strengthen the application-oriented development of AI technology, foster innovative AI products and services, and promote the large-scale commercial use of AI in the country.
What will China do next?
China has outlined a roadmap to advance its “AI Plus” initiative. According to a set of guidelines released by the State Council in August, China aims to achieve broad and thorough integration of AI across six key areas by 2027. The core industries of the intelligent economy will grow rapidly, while the role of AI in public governance will be significantly enhanced. By 2030, AI will comprehensively enhance China’s high-quality development. The intelligent economy will be a key driver of the country’s economic development. Access to AI technology will be expanded, allowing more people to benefit from it. By 2035, China will fully enter a new stage of intelligent economic and social development, and will strongly support the basic realization of socialist modernization. The country, which has made significant advances in AI capabilities in recent years, is well-positioned to achieve these goals. Currently, China accounts for approximately 60% of the world’s AI patents, ranking first in the world. In terms of practical application, multiple world-class AI models have appeared in Japan, and more than 100 benchmark application scenarios have been materialized.
Yu Youcheng, deputy secretary-general of the China Artificial Intelligence Association, said China’s achievements and progress in the field of AI will help push science and technology innovation to new heights. Looking to the next five years, Yu said that by adopting scenario-based innovation, it will be possible to better connect technology and industry, not only bridge research and market, but also promote the integrated development of technology and industrial innovation. With the full implementation of the “AI Plus” initiative, China’s scientific and technological innovation will further accelerate, thereby supporting China’s development into a technological powerhouse, Yu added.
