China Charts AI Leadership Path as State Council Approves Key Plans
Chinese Premier Li Qiang chaired a State Council executive meeting on June 29 in Beijing, directing a comprehensive push to accelerate artificial intelligence development while approving major policy blueprints for carbon reduction and public health under the 15th Five-Year Plan. The meeting signals Beijing’s determination to maintain its competitive edge in AI innovation as it approaches the mid-year economic review.
The State Council heard a report on AI development and deployed targeted measures to accelerate breakthroughs, according to Xinhua News. China’s AI core industry has already reached 1.2 trillion yuan (approximately $165 billion), with over 6,200 enterprises operating in the sector as of 2025.
AI Innovation and the “AI+” Push
The meeting directed intensified efforts to achieve breakthroughs in key AI technologies, accelerate the construction of ultra-large-scale intelligent computing clusters, and strengthen high-quality data supply. The State Council also emphasized enhancing support for talent and capital while encouraging enterprises to pursue basic research and frontier exploration.
“We must deeply grasp the evolutionary trends of artificial intelligence, improve support policies and governance systems, and firmly grasp the initiative in development,” the State Council said in its official statement, as reported by People’s Daily.
A central pillar of the strategy is deepening the “AI+” action plan, first approved by the State Council in July 2025 and formally issued in August 2025. The initiative aims to leverage China’s complete industrial system and rich application scenarios to promote large-scale commercial deployment of smart products and services.
“China has significant foundational advantages in the commercial application of AI,” said Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee on Information and Communication Economics at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in comments reported by the National Business Daily. “Among China’s talent structure, the proportion of engineering application talents is relatively high, and these talents are very creative in commercial applications.”
Safety and Governance
The meeting also stressed the importance of AI safety governance, calling for improved institutional rules covering technology ethics and testing certification. The State Council directed the establishment of a dynamically adaptive, tiered safety supervision system and strengthened international AI governance cooperation.
Pan Helin highlighted key risks requiring attention: “On one hand, AI deepfakes may lead to disinformation; on the other hand, AI data scraping may lead to data security issues; in addition, AI replacing employment may also lead to social job loss.”
Expert Perspectives
Chinese analysts broadly endorsed the State Council’s direction. Zhang Linshan, a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told Xinhua that the meeting’s deployments “deeply grasp the laws of AI technology and industrial evolution, are based on the present and look to the long term, highlighting giving the market direction and confidence.”
Zhang Xiaolan, a researcher at the NDRC’s National Information Center, added that “seizing the opportunities of the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, accelerating the development of AI, and cultivating and expanding new quality productive forces will surely inject stronger momentum into high-quality economic development.”
Carbon Peak and National Health Plans
Beyond AI, the meeting approved two significant policy documents. The “15th Five-Year Plan” Carbon Peak Action Plan aims to accelerate energy restructuring and green transformation, building on the Carbon Peak and Neutrality Comprehensive Assessment Measures released in April 2026. The State Council said it would leverage carbon goals to drive economic structural transformation and create new green growth points.
The “15th Five-Year Plan” National Health Plan focuses on building a full life-cycle health service system, coordinating resource allocation, and strengthening collaboration between medical services, insurance, and disease control systems. The plan also calls for developing the health industry and expanding health product supply.
Trade and Economic Priorities
The meeting also addressed foreign trade, directing authorities to maintain growth momentum, expand credit and credit insurance support, and promote balanced import-export development. The State Council emphasized enhancing trade quality, strengthening goods trade brand influence, and expanding services and digital trade.
Broader Strategic Context
The June 29 meeting comes amid a sustained push by Beijing to position AI as a core engine of national development under the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). As independent analysis from Digital Strategy AI notes, the strategy treats AI not as a single sector but as a general-purpose technology to be scaled, governed, and exported—woven into economic policy, social programs, and security objectives.
The State Council’s official English-language guideline on the “AI+” initiative, issued in August 2025, set targets for AI agent and smart terminal penetration to exceed 70 percent by 2027 and 90 percent by 2030, underscoring the scale of Beijing’s ambitions.
What to Watch
As China moves forward with its AI agenda, several key questions remain: how the government will balance AI-driven productivity gains with potential job displacement, what specific regulatory measures will follow the meeting’s call for AI safety governance, and how China’s self-reliance strategy will navigate ongoing semiconductor export controls. The newly approved Carbon Peak and National Health plans are also expected to contain specific targets and timelines that will shape policy implementation in the months ahead.