China is harnessing breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) to boost industrial productivity and household adoption, according to a senior official involved in drafting the country's Government Work Report. Chen Changsheng, deputy director of the State Council Research Office, emphasized at a Wednesday press briefing that China will leverage its strengths in digital infrastructure and manufacturing to integrate AI across sectors, signaling a strategic push to solidify its global tech leadership.
Strategic Focus Areas
Chen outlined three priority areas for 2024:
Industry Empowerment: Accelerating large-scale AI model deployment in manufacturing, agriculture, and services to drive productivity upgrades.
Consumer Tech Expansion: Speeding development of AI-powered smartphones, smart vehicles, and household robots, capitalizing on China's manufacturing ecosystem to bring innovations to market faster.
Sector-Wide Scaling: Promoting AI applications in low-altitude economy projects, healthcare, and education while preventing market fragmentation through coordinated infrastructure development.
Building Momentum
Early successes like DeepSeek's global traction and Unitree Robotics' viral dance robot at the China Media Group Spring Festival Gala demonstrate rapid progress. Chen also noted renewed international investor confidence in Chinese tech assets, highlighting AI's role in economic growth.
Plans include optimizing national computing networks, advancing core AI technologies, and prioritizing youth-led innovation. The government aims to create an open ecosystem for AI development while aligning advancements with market needs.
