Initiative on AI hailed as growth catalyst

China's emphasis on bolstering the extensive and in-depth integration of artificial intelligence in various fields will help the nation build up new growth drivers and inject strong impetus into high-quality economic development, solidifying its position as a global innovation powerhouse, said experts and company executives.

As China recognizes AI as an essential tool in nurturing new quality productive forces, the application of AI will promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries as well as foster strategic emerging and future-oriented industries, they said.

Their comments follow the recent unveiling of a guideline by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on deeply implementing the "AI Plus" initiative.

According to the guideline, the country will promote the use of AI in science and technology, industrial development, consumption, people's well-being, governance capability and global cooperation.

By 2027, China will make achievements in the extensive and deeper integration of AI in six key sectors, with the penetration rate of new-generation intelligent terminals and AI agents surpassing 70 percent, and this figure will exceed 90 percent by 2030, the guideline said.

By 2035, China will enter a new stage of intelligent economy and intelligent society, providing strong support for basically realizing socialist modernization, the guideline added.

Xu Qiang, president of the State Information Center, said, "As a strategic technology spearheading a new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, AI is profoundly reshaping the way human beings work and live."

He highlighted the importance of technological modernization, saying that it is key to advancing Chinese modernization.

The guideline on implementing the "AI Plus" initiative aims to promote the in-depth integration of AI in various sectors of the economy and society, Xu said, adding that it will help raise the total factor productivity and play a crucial strategic role in supporting the Chinese modernization drive.

Weng Xi, a professor at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, said the "AI Plus "initiative serves as a vital measure for propelling the shift of growth drivers from old to new ones, as AI has become a new engine bolstering China's economic development and industrial upgrading.

"The in-depth industrial integration of AI will enhance production efficiency, optimize operational processes and lower energy consumption and costs, thereby promoting traditional industries, including steel, textile and equipment manufacturing, toward high-end, intelligent and green development," Weng said.

The guideline states that efforts will be made to improve the basic abilities of AI models, strengthen innovation in data supply, enhance intelligent computing power and reinforce the construction of talent teams.

Wang Yiming, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, noted that China has unique advantages in promoting the "AI Plus" initiative, given its abundant data resources, a complete industrial system that offers rich application scenarios, an ultra-large domestic market, and a sound policy and institutional environment.

Looking forward, Wang said the sustained implementation of the "AI Plus" initiative requires breakthroughs in basic research and key and core technologies, and stronger infrastructure construction such as data and computing power.

"It also calls for building an intelligent industrial ecosystem and open-source community, strengthening talent development, improving policy and regulatory systems and enhancing security capabilities," he added.

Sun Ke, deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology's policy and economic research institute, underscored the significant role of AI in cultivating new quality productive forces and reshaping new competitive advantages.

Deeply implementing the "AI Plus" initiative is conducive to accelerating the deeper integration of AI with the real economy, giving rise to new industries and new business forms, such as intelligent robots, self-driving vehicles and smart home devices, and strengthening China's core competitiveness on the global stage, Sun said.

Zhou Yunjie, chairman and CEO of Haier Group, said that currently, the deployment of AI in enterprises mainly concentrates on manufacturing, research and development, sales, procurement and services.

The integration of AI models with home service robots and terminal devices will create new consumption growth points for the global consumer electronics industry, Zhou said, adding that his company is promoting the application of AI in a wide range of fields, including smart homes and industrial internet.

Cui Jingyi, vice-president and general manager of industrial software developer Aveva China, said the country is becoming a market with the most extensive application of AI technologies globally, bringing new opportunities for many companies, including Aveva.

She added that the company is willing to accelerate the application of AI through collaboration with Chinese local partners.