Artificial intelligence accelerating nation's industrial upgrade efforts - Chinadaily.com.cn

Artificial intelligence, the latest facet of information technology, has gained increasing momentum and been widely applied in various sectors with tremendous potential, thus becoming a driving force of scientific and technological development during China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period. It has also injected new impetus into the digital economy and played a key role in bolstering high-quality development and accelerating the nation's push for industrial upgrading, experts said. According to the 13th Five-Year Plan, the country called for developing AI, with a focus on fostering the industrial ecology of AI and promoting the integration and application of AI into key industries and fields. In July 2017, the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a plan that set benchmarks for the country's AI sector, with the value of core AI industries predicted to exceed 1 trillion yuan ($150 billion) and making the country one of the global leaders in AI innovation by 2030. China has made tremendous strides in AI over the past five years as it has outpaced the United States in the number of worldwide AI-related patent applications, said a report from a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology research unit. The report also pointed out that AI is considered an important direction for industrial upgrading, and the country's strategic plan for AI offers a broad space for the research and development of AI technologies and related industries.