China is pushing ahead with its “AI Plus” initiative

China is pushing ahead with its “AI Plus” initiative

By @Xinhua
Publication Date: 2025-11-23 00:00:00

A humanoid robot demonstrates its ability to fold a cloth at the Light of Internet Expo 2025 World Internet Conference (2025 WIC) in Wuzhen, east China’s Zhejiang province, November 6, 2025. (PHOTO/XINHUA)

BEIJING – Artificial Intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly one of today’s global buzzwords. But in China – the world’s second-largest economy – a crucial question is how its AI ambitions will unfold and change the country’s future growth path. Clues to the answer can be found in a major national initiative called AI Plus.

The “AI Plus” initiative, unveiled in a government work report in 2024, is gaining momentum and becoming a key priority for China’s social and economic development. Most recently, the recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) included a call for “general development of the ‘AI Plus’ initiative”, underscoring its importance for the country’s future.

What does “AI plus” mean?

The “AI Plus”…