In the current surging tide of technology, artificial intelligence has become the focus of global attention, and China is rising at an astonishing speed in this race. From "Sense Robot" to DeepSeek, the development process of Chinese's artificial intelligence industry is not only a road of technological breakthrough and innovation, but also a road of rise that breaks through in international competition and leads in social change.
1. Policy guidance: The national strategy promotes the take-off of the AI industry
The Chinese government has shown a far-sighted pattern in its strategic planning for the development of artificial intelligence. As early as 2017, the Chinese government made it clear that AI would be the "main driver" of the country's development and set an ambitious goal of becoming a global technology power by 2030. To achieve this goal, the government plans to invest up to 10 trillion yuan over the next 15 years. This huge investment plan not only demonstrates the government's great importance to the artificial intelligence industry, but also provides a solid economic foundation for the rapid development of the industry. As of March 2025, there are more than 4,500 companies developing and selling AI products in China, and this huge group of enterprises is constantly innovating in the fierce market competition, driving the rapid iteration and application expansion of AI technology.
2. Technological breakthrough: from catching up to leading
China's independent innovation achievements in the field of artificial intelligence technology are remarkable, and many major breakthroughs have been made, which have shocked the world. At the end of 2024, the release of the DeepSeek-R1 version of Chinese's artificial intelligence model has made the outside world fully aware of China's great progress in artificial intelligence technology. Through algorithm innovation and deep parallel optimization, DeepSeek achieves world-class performance with low computing power. This technological innovation not only reduces the cost of AI applications, but also improves its applicability in various scenarios. For example, DeepSeek's feat of defeating a chess grandmaster in a tournament fully demonstrates its powerful ability in intelligent decision-making and pattern recognition. In addition, China has also made remarkable progress in a number of key technology areas such as artificial intelligence chips, natural language processing, and computer vision. For example, China's latest artificial intelligence product Manus (Manus) has shocked the global technology market with a new model, and analysts believe that its capabilities far exceed those of foreign competitors, marking that China is leading the world towards the era of artificial intelligence autonomous agency.
Figure: From "Sense Robot" to DeepSeek, the rise of AI in China (picture from the Internet)
3. Industrial application: Multiple scenarios empower social change
The development of Chinese's artificial intelligence industry presents a diversified application pattern, from educational robots to intelligent toys, from medical diagnosis to intelligent transportation, artificial intelligence technology is penetrating into various fields, bringing profound changes to society. Taking SenseTime's "SenseRobot" series of robots as an example, it not only has multi-level difficulty settings and can interact with users in board games, but also plans to add language learning functions to further expand its educational application scope. As of March 2025, there are more than 4,500 companies developing and selling AI products in China. In the medical field, AI-assisted diagnosis systems can quickly and accurately analyze medical images, helping doctors improve diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. In the field of transportation, intelligent transportation systems can effectively alleviate urban traffic congestion by monitoring traffic flow in real time and optimizing traffic light control. These diversified application scenarios not only improve the efficiency of social operation, but also bring more convenience and well-being to people's lives.
4. Talent training: Education supports the emergence of talents
Talent is the core driving force for the development of the artificial intelligence industry, and China has shown unique advantages in talent training. In 2020, China had more than 3.5 million students earning science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees, the highest number in the world. China's emphasis on STEM education has produced a large number of high-quality professionals for the AI industry. These talents not only have a solid theoretical foundation, but also have strong practical ability and innovative spirit. They are active in scientific research institutions, universities and enterprise R&D departments, contributing wisdom and strength to the innovation and development of artificial intelligence technology. For example, Lu Peizhang, vice president of Shanghai Whale Robotics, said: "In the era of artificial intelligence, we have a lot of engineers, and they are all very hardworking. In the research and development process of artificial intelligence projects, these engineers give full play to their professional advantages, constantly overcome technical problems, and promote the upgrading and optimization of artificial intelligence products.
5. Societal impact: Opportunities and challenges coexist
The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has had a profound impact on Chinese society in many ways, creating both opportunities and challenges. In terms of opportunities, the application of artificial intelligence technology has greatly improved social productivity and promoted industrial upgrading and economic structure optimization. For example, in the manufacturing industry, AI-powered humanoid robots are being widely used in production lines, not only improving production efficiency but also reducing labor costs. At the same time, AI has also brought opportunities for innovation and change to traditional industries such as education, healthcare, and transportation, and improved the quality and efficiency of public services. In terms of challenges, the development of artificial intelligence has also raised a series of social issues, such as the adjustment of employment structure, data privacy and security issues, etc. With the widespread application of AI technology in various industries, some repetitive and regular jobs may be replaced by machines, which requires workers to continuously upgrade their skills to adapt to new employment needs. In addition, the demand for large amounts of data in AI systems and the centralized storage and processing of data have made data privacy and security issues increasingly prominent. How to effectively protect personal privacy and data security while promoting the development of artificial intelligence is an important issue facing Chinese's artificial intelligence industry.
6. International Competition: Moving Forward Under Pressure
In the global AI competition landscape, China is facing tremendous pressure from developed countries such as the United States, but at the same time, it is also showing strong resilience and competitiveness. The United States has further tightened export controls on advanced chips and put more Chinese companies on the trade blacklist, which has undoubtedly brought certain obstacles to the development of Chinese's artificial intelligence industry. However, as evidenced by the development of DeepSeek, Chinese companies have the ability to overcome these obstacles. Through independent innovation, Chinese artificial intelligence enterprises have continuously made breakthroughs in technology, and gradually narrowed the gap with the international leading level. In some fields, such as intelligent robots, smart toys, etc., Chinese companies have even achieved corner overtaking and won the recognition of the international market. For example, SenseTime has sold more than 100,000 units of its "SenseRobot" series of robots and has reached a supply agreement with Costco, a major supermarket chain in the United States. This shows that Chinese artificial intelligent products are not only competitive in the domestic market, but also have certain advantages in the international market. In the future, Chinese's artificial intelligence industry needs to strengthen international cooperation, actively participate in global AI governance, and jointly respond to the challenges brought about by technological development while maintaining independent innovation.
Chinese's artificial intelligence industry is in a critical stage from catching up to leading. With the strong support of government policies, with diversified industrial applications, continuous technological innovation, rich human resources and the ability to continuously overcome the pressure of international competition, Chinese's artificial intelligence industry is expected to contribute more Chinese wisdom and strength to the development of global artificial intelligence while achieving its own rapid development. However, we should also be soberly aware that the development of artificial intelligence still faces many challenges, and we need the joint efforts of all sectors of society to promote the healthy and sustainable development of artificial intelligence technology, so that it can better serve the progress and well-being of human society.
