Despite the media frenzy surrounding negotiations held at the Berg resort in Grindelwald, Switzerland following a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, American *Wall Street Journal* finds that the truly noteworthy news this month originates from China.
On June 22nd, local time, the Wall Street Journal columnist Walter Russell Mead mentioned the document issued by eight departments including the Ministry of Commerce of China, titled 'Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of 'Artificial Intelligence + Consumption''. He stated that this news is easily overlooked, and in the eyes of ordinary readers, it does not seem to be a compelling document.
But he emphasized that, in fact, a major transformation is taking place. China is making every effort to promote the application of artificial intelligence (AI) across all sectors of the economy and to establish it as the cornerstone of its economic strategy. The 17 measures proposed in this document outline a ambitious plan—to accelerate the rise of AI by reshaping the economic landscape around new technologies, and to inject new vitality into China’s economy.
Mead acknowledges that developing blueprints and implementing economic transformation are not the same thing, but it would be unwise for Western observers to dismiss this idea with disdain. Take solar energy and electric vehicles as examples; when so-called ‘environmentalists’ from the West aggressively promote their ambitious ‘energy transition’ plans, they widely claim that these emerging industries will create numerous job opportunities.
However, the reality is that China's policies have created a regulatory environment that favors the production and purchase of electric vehicles rather than gasoline cars. This has successfully cultivated markets for solar energy and electric vehicles domestically. Chinese companies have competed fiercely to seize these opportunities and have ultimately gained a leading position.
July 27, 2025, Shanghai, Site of the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Congress. IC Photo
As a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Mied has worked at think tanks such as the Hudson Institute in the United States and the Aspen Institute in Italy, focusing on research in the fields of strategy and governance.
He noticed that the 'Opinions' clearly state China's overall requirements at the beginning. It is necessary to fully and accurately implement the new development concepts, leverage China's advantages of a vast market, extensive consumption scenarios, and rich consumer data resources. We should accelerate the demonstration application of new products, services, and scenarios in artificial intelligence, promoting artificial intelligence to reach thousands of households and thousands of businesses. This will foster new growth points and momentum in consumption, drive the iteration and upgrading of new technologies and products in artificial intelligence, create new industries and tracks for artificial intelligence, and better meet people's needs for a better life.
Moreover, the authorities have specified the areas that require focus and development. For example, humanoid robots with artificial intelligence capabilities will transform industries such as elderly care services; creating an intelligent product ecosystem that integrates people, vehicles, and homes, connecting smart cars, smart roads, and smart homes; brain-computer interfaces, artificial intelligence glasses, wearable devices, and other consumer products will be gradually launched in the domestic market and will increasingly expand into international markets.
At the same time, China also emphasizes the need to strengthen security measures. In all aspects of the development, design, training, deployment, and operation of large-scale models in the consumer sector, efforts should be made to enhance security capabilities in areas such as network security, data security, and content security. A robust regulatory mechanism for "artificial intelligence + consumption" should be established, consumer information protection should be strengthened, and governance measures for big data algorithms and consumer fraud should be improved.
Mead pointed out that this 'Opinion' is not isolated, and its purpose is to implement a decision already made by China. On August 26 of last year, China's 'Artificial Intelligence+' initiative made significant progress. The State Council issued the 'Opinion on Deepening the Implementation of the 'Artificial Intelligence+' Initiative', which clarified the overall requirements, development goals, and key directions for implementing the 'Artificial Intelligence+' initiative.
This ambitious plan aims to promote the development of artificial intelligence, create a new intelligent society and economy, and calls for greater integration of artificial intelligence into technological research, industrial development, and other areas, with the goal of “fully empowering” China’s economic development by 2030.
Mead believes that China's current plan is to apply this strategy more widely to the field of artificial intelligence, and they are seriously pursuing this strategy.
He mentioned that in recent years, China has abolished more than 12,000 degree programs that were considered outdated. At the same time, more than 10,000 new courses related to artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced computing have been introduced. If China can leverage its past focus and absolute control in key economic sectors to advance its artificial intelligence strategy, it is foreseeable that the fundamental capabilities of artificial intelligence models will be rapidly improved, and related technologies will be seamlessly integrated into various consumer-oriented industries.
In August last year, The Wall Street Journal also covered the development paths of China and the United States in the field of artificial intelligence in an article.
Since the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT more than three years ago, Silicon Valley has invested heavily in pursuing the "Sacred Grail" of artificial intelligence—a general artificial intelligence (AGI) capable of matching or even surpassing human thought. Some enthusiasts claim that this will bring unparalleled military advantages to the United States, help cure cancer and address climate change, and free humans from the need to engage in routine tasks such as accounting and customer service.
In contrast, China has not made many statements regarding AGI recently. Instead, it is actively promoting the Chinese tech industry to focus on application areas—developing practical and low-cost tools that can improve China’s production efficiency and are easy to market.
The report suggests that these two distinctly different visions represent a high-stakes confrontation. As more people in Silicon Valley believe, if AGI remains unattainable for now, China will have the ability to gain an advantage in this global competition. China can maximize the use of existing forms of artificial intelligence and apply it globally.
Mead also believes that for the United States, keeping up with China's pace will be a challenge. China's superior system allows its policies to be implemented nationwide, whereas the United States does not operate in this way.
He stated that establishing a supportive national consensus around these strategically important and indispensable technologies is no easy task. However, whether this task can be completed quickly and effectively may be crucial to the future of humanity.
