AI+ — China’s State Council Unveils “AI+” Initiative, Bolstering Financial Support for the AI Sector

Key Points

  • The State Council of China launched the “AI+” initiative to scale AI across industries, public governance, and daily life, emphasizing financial and fiscal support.
  • Ambitious targets include over 70% penetration of new-generation intelligent terminals and agents by 2027, rising to over 90% by 2030 in relevant scenarios.
  • The initiative is built on eight foundational pillars, including Models, Data, Computing power, and Applications, alongside six major actions and the establishment of national AI application pilot bases.
  • It encourages enterprises to embed AI into their strategies and operations, supporting innovations in areas like intelligent networked vehicles and AI-powered healthcare diagnostics.
  • This signals a long-term, top-down effort to make the intelligent economy a primary growth engine for China, offering clear policy support for AI-native ventures.
Key AI+ Targets for China’s AI Economy
Target Year Target Goal Description
2027 >70% Penetration Extensive integration of AI across six key areas, with new-generation intelligent terminals and agents exceeding 70% penetration.
2030 >90% Penetration Intelligent terminals and agents to penetrate over 90% of relevant scenarios.
Ongoing Core AI Economy Growth Core AI economy to become a vital growth pole and major driver of technological inclusivity for China’s development.
Eight Foundational Pillars of China’s AI+ Initiative
Pillar Description
Models Core AI model development and model governance.
Data Secure and shared data infrastructures to support training and applications.
Computing Power Scaling infrastructure for research and commercialization.
Applications Industry-specific solutions across manufacturing, healthcare, finance, transportation, and energy.
Open Source Encouraging community-driven innovation and interoperability.
Talent Cultivating AI professionals and multidisciplinary teams.
Policies & Regulations Legal frameworks and standards to guide safe adoption.
Security Balancing rapid development with resilience and risk management.
Expected Outcomes from National AI Application Pilot Bases
Outcome Area Description
Resource Integration Integration of industry resources and capabilities.
Talent Development Training and cultivation of AI professionals.
Knowledge Dissemination Dissemination of tested application results and best practices.
Ecosystem Incubation Incubation of innovative companies and an open ecosystem for collaboration.
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AI+ is the centerpiece of China’s latest national push to scale artificial intelligence across industry, public governance, and everyday life.

The State Council of China (Guowuyuan 国务院) released the Opinions on Deeply Implementing the “Artificial Intelligence (AI)+ Action” (关于深入实施“人工智能+”行动的意见) on August 26, 2025.

The directive emphasizes increasing financial and fiscal support for the AI sector, building long-term and strategic capital, and improving risk-sharing and exit mechanisms for investment.

The plan also highlights the critical role of fiscal funds and government procurement policies in jump-starting demand and stabilizing early-stage AI ventures.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC – Guojia Fazhan Gaige Weiyuanhui 国家发展和改革委员会) representative said the initiative will leverage China’s abundant data resources, broad industrial base, and vast application scenarios.

The goal is to deeply integrate AI across multiple fields, accelerate industrial upgrading, and create new pathways for strategic and future industries.

This is positioned as a way to stimulate demand, accelerate economic transformation, and attract global capital to China’s AI ecosystem.

Ambitious Targets: 2027 and 2030 Milestones for the AI Economy

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The Opinions set clear national milestones for the near and medium term.

  • By 2027, the plan expects extensive integration of AI across six key areas, with penetration of new-generation intelligent terminals and intelligent agents exceeding 70%.
  • By 2030, the target is to have these intelligent terminals and agents penetrate over 90% of relevant scenarios.
  • The text projects the core AI economy will become a vital growth pole for China’s development and a major driver of technological inclusivity.

Eight Foundational Pillars: Models, Data, Compute, and More

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The Opinions identify eight pillars that will underpin the AI ecosystem.

  • Models — core AI model development and model governance.
  • Data — secure and shared data infrastructures to support training and applications.
  • Computing power — scaling infrastructure for research and commercialization.
  • Applications — industry-specific solutions across manufacturing, healthcare, finance, transportation, and energy.
  • Open source — encouraging community-driven innovation and interoperability.
  • Talent — cultivating AI professionals and multidisciplinary teams.
  • Policies and regulations — legal frameworks and standards to guide safe adoption.
  • Security — balancing rapid development with resilience and risk management.

Six Major Actions and National Pilot Bases

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The NDRC frames the initiative around industry demand and foundational supply capabilities.

The exact six actions are not enumerated in the public summary, but they align with deep analysis of AI’s transformative impact across industries.

To accelerate real-world deployment, the plan will establish a batch of national AI application pilot bases.

These bases are designed as common capability platforms to speed up standardized, large-scale AI applications.

They will be strategically placed in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, finance, and energy resources.

Expected outcomes from the pilot bases include:

  • Integration of industry resources and capabilities.
  • Training and cultivation of AI professionals.
  • Dissemination of tested application results and best practices.
  • Incubation of innovative companies and an open ecosystem for collaboration.

How the Initiative Supports Enterprise and Research

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The Opinions encourage enterprises to embed AI into corporate strategy, structure, and operations.

That means companies are expected to integrate AI across product development, supply chains, and customer interactions.

The directive also promotes exploring new AI-driven research paradigms to accelerate major scientific discoveries.

On the product front, the push to build an “Internet of Everything Intelligent” signals strong support for smart terminals and all-scenario interaction.

Priority device categories include intelligent networked vehicles, AI-powered smartphones and computers, intelligent robots, smart home devices, and wearables.

In healthcare, the plan aims to advance AI in auxiliary diagnostics, health management, and medical insurance services, and to expand access to high-level personal health assistants.

These moves are intended to enhance the capabilities and efficiency of grassroots medical and health services.

Priority Device Categories for AI Integration
  • Intelligent networked vehicles
  • AI-powered smartphones and computers
  • Intelligent robots
  • Smart home devices
  • Wearables
Healthcare AI Focus Areas
  • Auxiliary diagnostics
  • Health management
  • Medical insurance services
  • Expanding access to high-level personal health assistants
  • Enhancing capabilities and efficiency of grassroots medical and health services

Finance, Policy, and Risk Management

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Financial and fiscal support is a central lever in the plan.

The government will focus on attracting long-term, patient capital and improving mechanisms for risk-sharing and investor exit.

Public procurement and targeted fiscal funding are expected to create stable demand signals for nascent AI products and services.

Regulatory development is also prioritized, with an emphasis on improving laws, standards, and ethical guidelines to support commercialization while managing societal risks.

What This Means for Investors, Founders, and Tech Leaders

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The initiative creates a government-backed runway for AI-native ventures and solutions that align with strategic sectors.

For investors, that translates to clearer policy support and potentially lower adoption risk for portfolio companies operating in targeted industries.

For founders and product teams, the opportunities include easier access to pilot bases, collaboration with industry players, and potential demand through government procurement.

For tech leaders and operators, the plan signals continued prioritization of AI infrastructure, talent pipelines, and standards that will shape competition domestically and globally.

Key strategic moves worth watching:

  • Which companies and regions get prioritized for pilot base funding and deployment.
  • How fiscal procurement is structured to support commercial scale-up.
  • How data governance and security rules evolve alongside open-source and collaboration signals.
  • Where compute capacity is expanded and how that shapes model training and commercialization economics.

Practical Next Steps

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If you’re an investor, founder, or operator in AI-focused markets, consider these immediate actions.

  • Map existing product-market fit to the six strategic application areas referenced by the policy.
  • Engage with regional pilot base initiatives to pilot and validate solutions.
  • Plan for regulatory compliance and ethical safeguards as part of product roadmaps.
  • Explore partnerships that accelerate access to data, compute, and domain expertise.

Quick Takeaways

The State Council’s AI+ plan is a comprehensive push that combines fiscal support, procurement power, infrastructure investment, and regulatory scaffolding.

The 2027 and 2030 targets for intelligent terminal penetration are explicit signals of scale-focused ambition.

Eight foundational pillars support a balanced growth model that ties capability development to responsible deployment.

National pilot bases will be central to turning policy into real-world applications and business models.

For stakeholders in AI, this reads as a long-term, top-down effort to make the intelligent economy a primary growth engine.

Linking Opportunities

Consider linking to the following authoritative sources when publishing or amplifying coverage:

  • The State Council of the People’s Republic of China policy page for primary documentation.
  • The NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission) for commentary and coordination details.
  • Industry outlets like China Securities Journal and Eastmoney for local markets and investor perspectives.
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References

AI+ remains the key phrase to watch as China deploys policy, capital, and infrastructure to industrialize artificial intelligence.

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