China intensifies push to become world leader in tech and AI

China is pledging to use ‘extraordinary measures’ to support the country's bid to become a global leader in artificial intelligence, quantum technology and other cutting-edge technological fields, according to its 15th five-year plan.

The plan was passed by the top legislature in Beijing on Thursday and published on Friday. It will run from 2026 to 2030 and serves as China’s overarching blueprint.

Many researchers noted an air of confidence in the plan. “Five years ago, the sentiment of the Chinese science policymakers was still very much like, we don’t want to be too far behind the US, we are still doing the catching up,” says Meicen Sun, an information scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “Now, there is this more palpable sentiment that there’s a real chance we can be a true leader,” she says.

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