‘Two sessions’ 2024: China’s lawmakers call for more AI development to catch up with US, while keeping it under regulatory control
- Zhang Yunquan at the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed state-led efforts to coordinate academic and industrial resources to build up a ‘sovereign LLM’
- Premier Li Qiang introduced an AI+ initiative to integrate the power of AI across traditional sectors to drive economic growth, and to push for technology upgrades
Artificial intelligence (AI) was a key topic discussed by the business and political elite attending China’s annual legislative gathering last week, as the country seeks to leverage ChatGPT-like technology to drive economic growth while maintaining strict regulatory control.
Technology and academic delegates to the National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) tabled multiple suggestions to advance AI, from the pooling of algorithm training infrastructure to more support from Beijing to ensure China does not fall behind in the global AI arms race.
Yu Xiaohui, head of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), which is backed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), suggested that the government should pool resources to build a “unified national market” of computing power services.
“We must establish a unified market for computing power services and the effective use of resources across the country,” Yu, a CPPCC member, said.
His appeal resonated with other delegates, including telecoms equipment maker ZTE’s senior vice-president Miao Wei and Ma Kui, general manager at China Mobile’s Sichuan branch, who both called for increased investment in and more coordinated development of computing infrastructure. Miao and Ma are NPC delegates.
