Chinese President Xi Jinping is urging his country to seize opportunities in artificial intelligence and other new breakthroughs to aid the modernization of China's industrial system. This statement was made during a meeting of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, where the president stressed that accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system bolstered by the real economy is crucial to gain strategic initiative in future development and international competition.
This is not the first time that Xi has discussed AI. In a separate meeting in April, Chinese leaders concluded that China must "pay attention to the development of artificial general intelligence" and emphasized the need to "create an ecosystem for innovation but at the same time take risk prevention into account."
Chinese companies have launched their own AI models, and the Cyberspace Administration of China released draft measures for managing AI services like ChatGPT and Bard. The new regulations state that firms must submit security assessments to authorities prior to public launches.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration recently met with CEOs of top AI companies and announced new actions to "further promote responsible American innovation in artificial intelligence and protect people's rights and safety." The US has moved to slow China's AI development by restricting exports of advanced semiconductors that are vital for training AI models, but minimal effects have been seen on China's tech sector so far.
As AI continues to shape the future of technology and global competition, it remains to be seen how China and the US will navigate this rapidly evolving landscape.