China has outlined a three-step timeline for its AI development in a recently issued Central Government guideline: By 2027, the penetration rate of AI technology should reach 70 percent, with the core industries of the intelligent economy expanding rapidly; by 2030, the penetration rate should surpass 90 percent, making AI a central growth engine of the economy; and by 2035, China should have entered a mature stage of intelligent economic and social development.

The guideline, released on August 26 with a focus on deepening the implementation of the AI Plus initiative, also identifies six priority areas for integrated AI development: science and technology, industry, consumption, public welfare, governance and global cooperation.

The impact of AI on economic development, social progress and the international political and economic landscape is evolving rapidly. Strengthening the implementation of the AI Plus initiative and promoting the deep integration of AI with the economy and society are now not only urgent tasks we face today, but must also become a strategic priority for long-term development. History has taught us that every technological revolution will bring about an exponential leap in productivity and drive profound evolutions in social structure. AI is the latest of these epoch-making, revolutionary technologies.

The AI Plus initiative aims to seize the opportunities presented by AI and ensure they are channeled into satisfying people's needs for a better quality of life. It will do so by promoting the in-depth application of AI to people's daily life, including in the healthcare, education, transportation and elderly care sectors.

To achieve these goals, the guideline proposed strengthening eight basic supporting capabilities: basic model performance, data supply innovation, computing power management, application development environment, prosperity of the open source ecosystem, talent team building, regulatory frameworks and security measures.

The essence of China's AI blueprint is to define AI as a new generation of "civilizational infrastructure." Its goal is to build symbiosis and balance between AI and technologies, organizations and society, ensuring its development adheres to the principle of "technology for good."