AI took center stage during this year’s Two Sessions, the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress, the top legislature, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, the top political advisory body, held in early March.

For the first time, the government work report, delivered by Premier Li Qiang on March 5, proposed building a “smart economy,” calling for faster deployment of intelligent terminals and AI agents, and pushing large-scale commercial AI applications across key sectors. Many of the nation’s lawmakers and top political advisors also submitted motions and proposals on AI legislation, covering data security, algorithm transparency and ethical review. The message is clear: China’s AI governance is maturing.

The spotlight on AI at the Two Sessions is no accident. It signals that China’s AI journey is moving from the “highway” of pure tech exploration to the “balance beam” of governance and development. A deeper conversation, about technology, ethics and the future, is now underway.

After more than a decade of growth, China’s AI industry has built a complete ecosystem, from basic research to real-world application. The latest figures show that China’s core AI industry reached 1.2 trillion yuan ($174.4 billion) in 2025, with over 6,000 related enterprises. AI patent applications have ranked first globally for three consecutive years.

On the development of AI standards, China plays an active role in international cooperation and has released national standards covering machine learning models and biometrics. Chinese companies have reached international leading levels in computer vision, speech recognition and natural language processing.

AI applications are now deeply integrated across China’s economy and society: In smart manufacturing, AI quality inspection systems have achieved 99.9 percent defect recognition rates; in smart healthcare, auxiliary diagnosis systems have provided over 200 million services; and in smart city management, AI algorithms optimize traffic flows and energy allocation. Behind these figures lies a combination of vast data resources, diverse application scenarios, and sustained research and development investment.

The spring of AI has arrived, but its fruits depend on the seeds we sow today. AI governance is no longer just about control. It’s about ensuring technology serves humanity, not the reverse. China’s choice is to balance innovation with regulation and efficiency with fairness and empower technology without losing the human touch. BR