China looks to AI to sharpen software sector's competitive edge

BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- China has unveiled a dedicated action plan to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into its software and information technology services industry, aiming to reshape the sector's core competitiveness.

A woman visits the permanent exhibition at the Zhongguancun Exhibition Center in Beijing, capital of China, March 25, 2026. (File photo: Xinhua)

The plan, released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, sets out a two-stage roadmap.

By 2028, China aims to significantly raise the intelligence level of its software industry, by cultivating high-standard coding tools and development platforms, and extending their use to more than 20,000 major software enterprises.

Meanwhile, the plan also calls for building 100 benchmark applications for agent-based software across key industries and incubating at least five high-quality open-source projects.

The plan envisions a step-change in the integration of AI with the software sector, with full intelligent upgrades across critical software systems by 2030. AI-powered programming, agent software and intelligent services are expected to emerge as new growth engines, supported by internationally competitive open-source communities and industrial clusters.

Currently, AI is fundamentally transforming how software is developed, what products look like and how services are delivered, making it the core engine driving industrial upgrading.

The action plan is the latest in a series of policy moves as China races to embed AI across its economy.

The government work report has deployed the "AI Plus" initiative for three consecutive years, and this year in particular called for "creating new forms of smart economy" for the first time.

AI has evolved from a supporting tool into a core engine of economic transformation, one that will systematically reshape the foundations of how the economy operates, analysts said.

Authorities predict China's AI-related sectors will surpass 10 trillion yuan in combined scale by 2030.