Artificial Intelligence in China

4 months ago 4

The Chinese government has long elevated artificial intelligence (AI) development to a strategic national priority with policies like the New-Generation AI Development Plan in 2017. It sees the potential of AI to radically transform social and productive structures due to its ability to perform tasks that usually require human intelligence.

US-China competition for dominance over AI technologies shapes today’s geopolitics. Wary of China’s potential, especially Beijing’s ambition to leverage AI for modernizing its military, the US has imposed sweeping export controls aimed at hobbling its progress.

Thanks to government support and global links, Chinese applied AI companies like computer vision firms SenseTime and Megvii are now household names. China’s fast-growing talent base and vibrant ecosystem of companies and public research labs are leading AI application development and producing high-impact AI research.

But China’s main weakness lies in its historical links with US industry: it trails in the fundamentals. China still cannot match the quality of US-designed AI chips and relies on machine learning frameworks developed by US firms. While China’s AI future is for now tied to choices made in Washington, in the long run, Chinese large language models and other types of AI systems may well prove good enough for the tasks they need to fulfill: enabling industrial applications and boosting military and security capabilities.

Graphics dashboard

Recent developments

Tech progress

Alibaba’s new Qwen3 large language model (LLM) family intensifies competition in China’s LLM landscape. While its flagship 235B model is competitive, the key impact stems from its smaller, open-weight models (under 30B parameters). These models demonstrate a capability leap for their size, facilitating wider deployment on devices like phones and cars in resource-constrained environments. (Source (EN): Sina April 30, 2025)

Domestic dynamics

China’s new national security white paper labels emerging technologies “double-edged swords,” acknowledging risks. It calls for “AI safety oversight and evaluation systems” and related legislation, embedding AI safety within the “Comprehensive National Security” concept. (Source (CN): State Council, May 12, 2025)
Beijing is prioritizing the creation of large Chinese-language collections of data (corpora) for AI training. The Digital China 2025 Action Plan calls for building and labelling high-quality AI datasets, particularly in sectors like transport, finance and health. This aligns with other policies, underscoring an increased focus on foundational data infrastructure. (Source (CN): National Data Administration, May 16, 2025)
China’s cyberspace regulator, through its “Qinglang” (清朗) campaign against AI misuse, is tightening control over AI training data. The initiative mandates stricter management, explicitly prohibiting illegally sourced, infringing, or false data. This signals Beijing's heightened focus on data integrity and controlling foundational AI inputs for domestic development and risk mitigation. (Source (CN): Cyberspace Administration of China, April 30, 2025)
Beijing is putting regulatory pressure on autonomous driving technology. More rigorous testing and reporting are required for autonomous driving features and over-the-air (OTA) software updates. Beijing is also discouraging the use of marketing language for self-driving features. (Source (CN): EE focus, April 19, 2025)