BEIJING — China’s commerce ministry has unveiled a set of measures designed to bring artificial intelligence deeper into the everyday lives of consumers and businesses throughout the country, according to state broadcaster CCTV, which reported the announcement on Thursday.
The package consists of 17 specific measures focused on expanding the role of AI across both the goods and services sectors nationwide.
On the product side, the plan calls for shifting consumer electronics away from simply being functional devices toward becoming truly intelligent ones. Officials also identified the development of a new market for humanoid robots as a key goal under the initiative.
When it comes to services, the measures are designed to keep pace with AI’s rapid spread — moving beyond consumer retail into areas like public services and everyday lifestyle services.
Lin Jian, the deputy director of the international trade cooperation institute under the ministry, explained the broader significance of the effort. “The introduction of AI is expected to break through the bottleneck in service consumption constrained by high labour costs and low standardization,” he said.
