On August 21, 2025, the State Council of China (hereinafter referred to as the State Council) issued the Opinions on Further Implementing the “Artificial Intelligence Plus” Initiative (Guo Fa [2025] No.11) (hereinafter referred to as the “AI+” Initiative), marking China’s proactive and open stance on AI.

The “AI+” Initiative declares the strategic positioning of China’s AI development and sets out a three-stage agenda for 2027, 2030, and 2035. In the new international and domestic political and economic context, China’s “AI+” Initiative is of strategic significance in boosting new quality productivity.

I. From “Internet+” to “AI+”: China’s Full-scale Promotion of Industrial Intelligence

In 2015, China launched the “Internet+” initiative, which effectively fueled the prosperity of the consumer Internet.[1] New consumption scenarios like e-commerce, mobile payment, online travel services, and social media profoundly reshaped people’s lifestyles and nurtured lots of platform enterprises.

Yet, despite attempts to drive intelligent manufacturing by “promoting the integration of the Internet and manufacturing, developing new production models such as Internet-based customized production and network-based collaborative manufacturing,” the “Internet+” initiative’s boost to the development of industrial Internet and intelligent manufacturing proves insufficient. China continues to be “strangled” by strategic competitors in crucial technologies such as chips, industrial software, and enterprise-level applications. As a result, it becomes imminent for China to explore alternative pathways to advance its industrial intelligent transformation.

In April 2022, OpenAI’s generative large language model ChatGPT burst onto the scene in the United States, propelling AI to the forefront as a global technological engine that has profoundly reshaped scientific research, technological innovation, and industrial development. In July 2025, the White House rolled out Winning the Race: AMERICA'S AI ACTION PLAN, a strategic move to ease regulatory constraints on AI in a bid to come out on top in the global AI race, thereby securing and maintaining global technological dominance.[2]

In September 2023, China first introduced the concept of “new quality productive forces.” In August 2025, the State Council issued the “AI+” Initiative, identifying AI as a new quality productive force for fueling industrial intelligent transformation. Full advancement of AI has thus become a national strategy for China.

II. Prioritizing Inclusivity and People’s Well-Being 

1.Strengthening Research in Philosophy and Social Sciences to Explore an “AI for Good” Theoretical Framework

“AI+” Initiative calls for “innovating research methods in philosophy and social sciences,” “conducting in-depth studies on the impact and mechanisms of AI on human cognition, judgment, and ethics,” and “exploring to develop a theoretical framework for ‘Intelligence for Good’ to better serve mankind.”

This demonstrates that China recognizes the strategic value of AI while exercising caution, avoiding blind trust or adoption and maintaining a measured approach to both the technological and philosophical aspects. China’s exploration of AI continues, as the country seeks to address fundamental questions such as AI’s direction of development, future trajectory, and its relationship with humankind. In fact, the principles, capabilities, social values, and philosophical implications of AI are still far from settled. Therefore, it is necessary and responsible to continue in-depth research on technical, philosophical, and sociological issues while fully advancing artificial intelligence.

2.Promoting People’s Well-Being and Inclusivity: A Value and a Strategic Priority

While promoting deep integration of AI with various industries, the “AI+” Initiative also emphasizes “people’s well-being” and “technological inclusivity” in multiple dimensions. It calls for broad application of AI in public welfare sectors such as education, healthcare, and elderly care. 

Such highlighting of people’s well-being signals that China seeks to make artificial intelligence a public resource to improve people’s lives, i.e., a universal right accessible to all rather than a technical privilege for a select few. In essence, AI should serve as a means to achieve societal betterment, not merely an objective in itself. The previous plight of food delivery riders “trapped in the algorithm”[3] clearly runs against the vision of “building a more compassionate intelligent society.” AI should benefit mankind rather than become a tool of exploitation.

Inclusivity means that China aims to extend the benefits of AI to more people, ensuring equal access to the welfare brought by intelligent technologies for people of different geographical locations, ages, and income levels, while preventing the emergence of a new technological gap.

Moreover, the emphasis on people’s well-being and inclusivity highlights the different paths that China and the United States has respectively chosen for AI development. While the U.S. focuses on advancing general artificial superintelligence, China “leverages its strengths in abundant data resources, a complete industrial system, and abundant application scenarios” to promote practical and industry-oriented applications.

After the release of the “AI+” Initiative, ministries including but not limited to the Ministry of Transport issued the Implementation Opinions on “AI+” in Transport, detailing policies to scale up AI innovation and application in the transportation sector. Under the broader “AI+” strategy, more concrete action plans are expected to be rolled out in fields such as agriculture and manufacturing.

3.China’s Pursuit of Equality and Participation in Global AI Governance

China’s emphasis on inclusivity not only prioritizes domestic well-being and benefit sharing, but also transcends borders. The “AI+” Initiative emphasizes “assisting all countries in equally participating in the intelligent development process and bridging the global AI divide,” as well as “promoting AI as an international public good for humankind, fostering an open ecosystem of equality, mutual trust, diversity, and win-win cooperation.”

In contrast to the United States’s pursuit of dominance in the so-called “AI race”, China promotes cooperation, inclusivity, and sharing in global AI governance by building an open-source ecosystem. This enables technological achievements to benefit more countries and communities. In the absence of international rules for AI governance, China’s  vision of equality, participation, and sharing certainly provides a new global AI governance model.

III. Defining the Boundaries for AI by Benevolence and Security

The “AI+” Initiative identifies “safety and controllability” as one of the overarching requirements for AI development. It underscores the imperative to “ensure that AI development remains safe, reliable, and controllable.” As such, China’s AI development is guided by benevolence with strict adherence to the bottom line of security [4].

This may further suggest that China adopts a deliberately permissive approach that allows businesses to boldly innovate and experiment, learning from their mistakes during the process, as long as they adhere to benevolence and security. In parallel, the “AI+” Initiative calls for “improving AI-related laws, regulations, and ethical guidelines, and advancing the legislative process for AI’s healthy development.” Thus, it is foreseeable that China will introduce an innovative legal and regulatory regime for AI.

Unlike the EU’s relatively strict regulatory approach, or the United States’ “deregulation” of AI, China neither allows regulation to become a “shackle” on innovation nor pursues a reckless race for AI dominance. Instead, China promotes the integration of AI with industries and its application in various scenarios under the principles of benevolence and security, so that AI can ultimately serve the well-being of humankind.

IV. Overall Planning and Deployment of Algorithm, Computing Power, and Data Resources

1.Nationwide Planning and Coordination of Computing Power Resources

The “AI+” Initiative advocates for “optimizing the deployment of national intelligent computing resources, improving the integrated national network of computing power, giving full play to the ‘East Data, West Computing’ project as a national conduit, and enhancing synergy among data, computing, electricity, and network resources.”

The “East Data, West Computing” project is a state-led strategic scheme launched in 2022[5]. By virtue of a top-down national framework, the scheme seeks to align the distribution of computing power resources with actual supply and demand across regions. It seeks to leverage the advantages of western regions where land, energy, and climate conditions are more suitable for constructing data centers with lower costs, to build computing infrastructure that can accommodate the surging demand for computing power in the eastern regions.

Computing power resources encompass not only chip technologies but also communication networks, electricity, and other resources.   On the one hand, China is working to overcome its AI chip vulnerabilities by coordinating intelligent computing resources nationwide; on the other hand,   it aims to “boost breakthroughs in AI chip innovation” and “accelerate the technological advances and engineering deployment of super large-scale intelligent computing clusters” to resolve computing power bottlenecks.

Utilizing and coordinating local resources makes it possible for China to find both short-term alternatives and long-term solutions to computing power bottlenecks. This approach not only addresses China’s restricted access to advanced AI chips, but also leverages China’s strengths in “making great achievements by pooling resources.”

2.Breaking the Barriers of Data Flow to Be Compatible with AI Development

“AI+” Initiative calls for “development of application-oriented, high-quality datasets for AI development” and the   “improvement of data property and copyright systems suitable for AI.” It   further encourages exploring “data cost compensation and profit-sharing mechanisms based on value contribution.” Meanwhile，it also promotes “the development of technologies related to data labeling and data synthesis to cultivate and strengthen data processing and data service industries.”

Building high-quality industry datasets and developing the data industry are essential to achieve the intelligent transformation from the Internet of Everything to the Intelligent Internet of Everything. However, due to the lack of a clearly defined data ownership regime, data has yet to become a true factor of production to unleash its full productivity potential.

To transform data from a “dormant resource” into a productive factor compatible with the development of AI requires the improvement of the alignment between legal and economic concepts related to data. A well-defined and balanced regime for the delineation of data ownership and data flow will be the key to unlocking the productive potential of data.

3.Promoting Algorithmic Innovation and Open-Source Ecosystems

“AI+” Initiative emphasizes “improving evaluation and incentive mechanisms for open-source contributions to foster a vibrant open-source ecosystem” and “developing internationally influential open-source projects and development tools.” Such focus on algorithmic innovation and the open-source ecosystem reflects the distinctive Chinese wisdom in AI development paths and global AI governance.

In contrast to the U.S.’s pursuit of a   winner-takes-all outcome by stacking the computing power to build “general artificial superintelligence,” China has taken an alternative path. On the one hand, China promotes algorithmic innovation to develop general AI systems “with international influence”; on the other hand, through open-source collaboration and focusing on vertical applications, China enables more developers to be able to develop diverse industry-specific applications by accessing Chinese AI products at low or even zero costs. This approach fosters a robust developer ecosystem and helps shape industry standards.

A standout example is DeepSeek, which did not follow the footsteps of U.S. tech giants in the computing power race. Instead, through cutting-edge algorithms, DeepSeek has achieved high technical performance comparable to leading models at only one twenty-seventh of OpenAI’s computing cost.[6] Meanwhile, DeepSeek’s open-source and free-to-use business model has generated a global ecological impact, which not only provides a new pathway for AI development but also organically fosters a developer community as well as domestic and international industry standards.

V. Summary

“AI+” Initiative reflects that, strategically, China emphasizes major “0 to 1” scientific breakthroughs to remain at the forefront of artificial general intelligence（AGI）by algorithmic innovation, while at the same time, China also values “from 1 to N” iterations, focusing on practical and application-oriented vertical models. This approach not only reduces trial-and-error costs and prevents speculative bubbles, but also progressively achieves the industrial and social intelligence by adopting an incremental   approach. Furthermore, through open source and free access, China promotes a vibrant AI ecosystem and advances a model of equal and shared global AI governance.

[注]

[1]In 2015, the Report on the Work of the Government of the 12th National People’s Congress proposed to “formulate the ‘Internet +’ Action Plan.” On July 4, 2015, the State Council issued the “Guiding Opinions on Actively Promoting the ‘Internet+’ Action”.

[2]Winning the Race: AMERICA'S AI ACTION PLAN. White House, July 2025, p.1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf.

[3]Lai Youxuan, Food Delivery Riders, Trapped in the System, People (Renwu Magazine), Sep. 8, 2020, p.70-71.

[4]Brian Tse, China Is Taking AI Safety Seriously. So Must the U.S., TIME Magazine, Aug. 13, 2025, p.2.

[5]On May 24, 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other three ministries jointly issued the Implementation Plan for the Computing Power Hub Nodes of the National Integrated Big Data Center Collaborative Innovation System, designating eight regions as computing power hub nodes.

[6]Anita Kirkovska, Analysis: OpenAI o1 vs DeepSeek R1, Vellum, https://www.vellum.ai/blog/analysis-openai-o1-vs-deepseek-r1?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=organic (last access on Oct. 12, 2025).