China’s AI Strategy

The present study is devoted to the consideration of the peculiarities of Chinese policy in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of global technological confrontation.

Aim. To identify the key areas of China’s AI strategy, as well as to identify priority areas of state policy in this area.

Tasks. To analyze the results of the development of the AI industry in China, to consider the main economic indicators, achievements in the creation of computing infrastructure, the development of its own research and development in the field of AI, to identify the main provisions of the key official documents of the Chinese strategy in the field of AI. To summarize the main directions of China’s policy in the field and in the broader context of global geopolitical and technological confrontation.

Methods. Research of official documents and on the basis of information and analytical technologies, comparative analysis, content analysis, inductive method using approaches of critical geopolitics.

Results. The study showed that China is one of the world leaders in the field of AI technologies. Its leading positions are supported by substantial investments comparable to the USA and the EU, significant achievements in the creation of computing infrastructure, high patent and publication activity of Chinese researchers, developers and organizations, existing scientific and technological groundwork in the field of quantum computing and neuroscience. China has formed a holistic AI strategy aimed at technological leadership, strengthening sovereignty in the field of high technologies, developing human resources, improving economic efficiency, gaining competitive advantages at the international level, as well as projecting its own geopolitical interests on this basis. A systematic approach to the adoption of the main strategic documents aimed at supporting the development of AI, the balance of roadmaps for achieving the main goals, contributes to the formation of a balanced and effective public policy in this area.

Conclusions. The analysis of China’s AI policy allows us to state the formation of a large space for the development of AI technologies, which acts as an alternative to the Western space, the leaders of which are the United States and the EU. At the international level, in the context of the tightening of the sanctions policy, China is able to provide countries for which the range of opportunities for cooperation with the West has seriously narrowed recently, with access to modern high technologies and substantial investment resources, thereby strengthening its own integration potential and influence in the world.  

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