Xi Warns of 'More Complex Environment' for Development, Calls on Jiangsu to 'Enhance Economic Resilience' - What's the AI Discussion at the NPC?
One of the benefits of tracking Chinese media is that often you can predict the reports that will dominate the People’s Daily’s front page on the next day. So today, I am covering what will be the lead story tomorrow.
On Thursday, Xi Jinping attended the meeting of the Jiangsu delegation during the NPC session. Cai Qi attended with him. The message that Xi delivered is not one of bluster that is looking at the future with a sense of over-confidence. Rather, it seems to be quite a sober-minded and task-oriented message, taking into account the challenges that lie ahead. For instance, at one point, he warns that provinces like Jiangsu must be better prepared to deal with external shocks, in particular, calling on the region to continue to work on “enhancing economic resilience.” His message on conduct and corruption is also quite straight-forward. This is not a moment for taking things easy or excesses.
Anyway, as per the report, Xi emphasised that “achieving the goals and tasks of the 15th FYP for economic and social development requires addressing a more complex environment and resolving more deep-seated contradictions. Jiangsu and other economically significant provinces stand at the forefront of reform and opening up, and must put in the work to study new situations, solve new problems, and accumulate replicable experiences.” 中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平5日下午在参加他所在的十四届全国人大四次会议江苏代表团审议时强调，完成“十五五”经济社会发展目标任务，需要应对更加复杂的环境、解决更多深层次矛盾。江苏等经济大省处在改革开放前沿，要在研究新情况、解决新问题上下功夫、出经验.
As per the report, six Jiangsu delegates spoke about:
advancing new-type industrialisation,
promoting the integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation,
strengthening research on key core technologies,
building harmonious and beautiful rural areas,
breaking through difficulties in the seed industry, and
carrying forward the spirit of sports.
江苏代表团审议热烈，气氛活跃。史志军、张晓宏、石磊、杨恒俊、高德荣、张雨霏等6位代表分别就推进新型工业化、促进科技创新与产业创新融合、加强关键核心技术攻关、建设和美乡村、破解种业难题、发扬体育精神等发言。
After listening to the delegates’ remarks, Xi Jinping delivered a speech, expressing his approval of the Government Work Report and outlining specific requirements for Jiangsu’s economic and social development during the 15th FYP period, based on the province’s actual circumstances.
Xi pointed out that developing new-quality productive forces is crucial for promoting high-quality development and enhancing economic competitiveness. Jiangsu has a solid foundation in this regard and must strive to be at the forefront. It is necessary to:
advance in an integrated manner the development of education, science and technology, and talent;
strive to achieve new breakthroughs in strengthening original innovation and research on key core technologies, and in seizing the commanding heights of science and technology;
explore new paths in promoting the deep integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain, and in advancing the efficient transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements;
open up new horizons in upgrading traditional industries, nurturing and expanding emerging industries, and making forward-looking arrangements for future industries; and
obtain new results in further deepening reform and removing institutional and mechanism obstacles that constrain the development of new-quality productive forces.
在听取大家发言后，习近平作了发言，表示赞成政府工作报告，并联系江苏实际就抓好“十五五”经济社会发展提出明确要求。习近平指出，发展新质生产力对于推动高质量发展、增强经济竞争力至关重要，江苏这方面基础较好，要努力走在前列。要一体推进教育科技人才发展，力争在加强原始创新和关键核心技术攻关、抢占科技制高点上实现新突破，在促进创新链产业链资金链人才链深度融合、推动科技成果高效转化应用上探索新途径，在优化提升传统产业、培育壮大新兴产业、超前布局未来产业上开创新局面，在进一步深化改革、破除制约新质生产力发展的体制机制障碍上取得新成果.
Xi Jinping emphasised that only when major economic provinces have a stable development foundation and strong capacity to withstand external shocks can they support the overall stability of the national economy. Jiangsu must continue to exert effort in enhancing economic resilience. It must strengthen its internal capabilities, fully integrate into the unified national market, and contribute to the smooth flow of the domestic economic cycle. It must expand high-level opening up, broadly explore global markets, and better connect with the international circulation. It must adopt bottom-line thinking to guard against various risks. 习近平强调，经济大省发展底盘稳、抵御外部冲击能力强，才能支撑全国经济大盘稳定。江苏要在增强经济韧性上持续用力。要练好内功、做强自身，全面融入全国统一大市场，助力畅通国内大循环。要扩大高水平对外开放，广泛开拓全球市场，更好联通国际循环。要以底线思维防范各种风险.
Xi Jinping pointed out that Chinese-style modernisation is the modernisation of common prosperity for all the people. Jiangsu must accurately grasp the new expectations of the people for a better life and the new characteristics of people’s livelihood work under the new circumstances, and proactively answer such questions as how to achieve high-quality and full employment, how to increase the incomes of urban and rural residents, and how to further raise the level of basic public services and social security, and explore effective paths for advancing common prosperity for all the people. 习近平指出，中国式现代化是全体人民共同富裕的现代化。江苏要准确把握新形势下人民群众对美好生活新期待和民生工作新特点，积极主动解答如何实现高质量充分就业、如何增加城乡居民收入、如何进一步提升基本公共服务和社会保障水平等课题，探索推进全体人民共同富裕的有效途径.
Xi Jinping emphasised that the more effective the Party’s governance, the stronger the guarantee for economic and social development. It is essential to earnestly organise and carry out education on establishing and practicing the correct view of political achievement, guiding Party members and cadres to implement the general requirements of ‘building the Party for the public good, benefitting the people, making scientific decisions, and truly grasping solid work,’ creating achievements that can withstand the test of practice, the people, and history. It is necessary to persist in addressing Party character, Party conduct, and Party discipline together, and ensure that rectifying conduct, upholding discipline, and combating corruption are carried out in an integrated manner, so as to win the trust of the people through the concrete results of strict and comprehensive Party governance, and to rally the majestic forces needed to advance the cause.”
Now, this one might not be in the paper tomorrow. But I thought it was an interesting read. This is a Xinhua report talking about how AI is being discussed at the NPC. Some of the domains and applications being discussed are worth noting.
It says that:
“Many delegates, members, and industry experts believe that AI is moving from a cloud-based concept to the physical world, and from general exploration to in-depth vertical integration. The deep fusion of technological breakthroughs and industrial applications has clearly outlined the contours of the next wave of growth.” 在多位代表委员和业界专家看来，人工智能正从云端概念走向物理世界、从通用探索转向垂直深耕，技术突破与产业落地的深度融合，已清晰勾勒出下一轮爆发的轮廓.
“‘The next wave of AI breakthroughs can be viewed from two perspectives: technological iteration and industrial application,’ said Gong Chao, a researcher at the National Innovation and Development Research Institute at Tongji University. He believes that while revolutionary technological iterations are unpredictable, general AI is undoubtedly one of the main directions of technological development.” “人工智能的下一轮爆发可以从技术迭代、产业落地两个层面来看。”同济大学国家创新发展研究院研究员宫超认为，技术的革命性迭代具有不可预测性，但从大方向来看，通用人工智能无疑是技术发展的主攻方向之一.
Liu Qingfeng, NPC delegate and chairman of iFLYTEK, called for actively planning for the next generation of AI, not limited to iterating existing technologies, but also proactively developing cutting-edge disruptive fields such as ‘quantum + AI’. 全国人大代表、科大讯飞董事长刘庆峰则建议，积极谋划下一代人工智能，不局限于现有技术的迭代，更要主动布局“量子+AI”等前沿颠覆性领域.
“‘From the perspective of industry deployment, those application scenarios that can achieve a productivity revolution will most likely become the explosive growth points.’ Gong Chao noted that this requires the relevant industries to possess two key characteristics: first, high-quality data intensity, and second, high industry profit margins. High-quality data means better model performance, fewer hallucinations, and higher deployment quality, while high profit margins mean the ability to afford AI costs, more stable demand, and an easier path to closing the commercial loop.” “从产业落地来看，那些能实现生产力革命的应用场景，将最有可能成为爆发点。”宫超表示，这需要相关行业具备两个特点，一是高质量数据密集，二是行业高利润率。高质量数据意味着模型效果好、幻觉少、落地质量高，高利润率意味着负担得起AI成本，需求更稳定，实现商业闭环更容易.
According to Feng Xingya, NPC delegate and chairman of GAC Group, the automotive industry, as a culmination of modern industry, is moving towards an ‘AI-defined’ future. ‘The future automotive industry will essentially be a fusion of AI and automobiles.’ The massive data processing, complex scenario understanding, and intelligent decision-making capabilities brought by AI are profoundly reshaping the entire automotive industry.” 在全国人大代表、广汽集团董事长冯兴亚看来，汽车产业作为现代工业集大成者，正迈向“AI定义”，“未来的汽车产业，本质是AI+汽车的融合产业”。AI所带来的海量数据处理、复杂场景理解与智能决策能力，正深刻地重塑整个汽车产业形态.
“The rise of embodied intelligence, driving AI’s transformation from a ‘thinker’ to an ‘actor’, has become another highly watched direction. Gu Qinghua, Head of Technology Consulting Services for Greater China at Ernst & Young, and other experts believe that the next breakout point of the AI wave may be the large-scale and industrialized implementation of embodied intelligence. Qi Xiangdong, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and chairman of Qi An Xin Technology Group, also believes that embodied intelligence with security safeguards may become the next breakout point of the AI wave.” 具身智能的崛起，推动AI从“思考者”向“行动者”转型，成为另一个备受关注的方向。安永大中华区科技咨询服务主管合伙人顾卿华等专家认为，AI浪潮的下一个爆发点可能会是具身智能的规模化与产业化落地。全国政协委员、奇安信科技集团董事长齐向东也认为，安全护航下的具身智能，或将成为AI浪潮下一个爆发点.
“Gu Qinghua analysed that, from the perspective of market space, China possesses a huge industrial system, a complete supply chain, and and a wide range of life application scenarios, with huge demands in areas such as manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, security maintenance, medical services, elderly care, and home services. From the perspective of technological capability, robots’ thinking and action capabilities are also significantly improving, completing an upgrade from ‘executing tasks according to programs’ to ‘autonomous perception, decision-making, and execution.’ From the perspective of industrial ecology, fields related to embodied intelligence, such as biotechnology, edge intelligence, and perception and control algorithms, are experiencing continuous innovation and breakthroughs, and related investment is also continuously increasing.” 顾卿华分析称，从市场空间角度来看，我国拥有庞大的工业体系、完整的供应链与广泛生活应用场景，生产制造、仓储物流、安全维护、诊疗服务、养老陪护、家庭服务等领域都有巨大的需求；从技术能力角度来看，机器人的思考和行动能力也在显著提升，正在完成从“按程序执行任务”到“自主感知决策执行”的升级；从产业生态角度来看，具身智能相关的生物技术、端侧智能、感知与控制算法等领域在持续不断的创新突破，产业相关投资规模也在持续增加.
It is also worth noting that AI’s precise empowerment in the field of people’s daily lives, particularly its role in bridging the intergenerational digital divide and serving the silver-haired demographic, has emerged as another significant area of potential for AI development. Hongsong App, China’s first interest-based online community app designed for middle-aged and elderly consumers, has leveraged AI technology to launch a suite of features including AI-assisted writing, a 24/7 companion assistant called ‘Sōng Xiǎozhì, age-friendly courses, and smart hardware devices. Currently, Hongsong App users generate over 10,000 pieces of UGC content per month, with more than 20% of users utilizing AI-assisted publishing. On average, each user spends over 30 minutes per day interacting with AI tutors, and AI involvement in the design of educational products exceeds 40%, highlighting the enormous potential of AI applications in people’s everyday lives. 值得关注的是，AI在民生服务领域的精准赋能，尤其是“缝合”代际数字鸿沟、服务银发人群的实践，也成为AI潜在的重要发力点。在我国首个面向银发人群的兴趣网络社区红松App，依托AI技术，推出了“AI帮我写”、24小时“松小智”陪伴、适老化课程与智能硬件等。目前，红松App用户每月产生超过万条UGC内容，超20%用户使用了AI辅助发布，平均每人每天与AI老师沟通超过30分钟，教学产品设计的AI参与度超过40%，彰显了AI在民生领域的巨大应用潜力.
“Cheng Wei, NPC delegate and general manager of China Mobile Communications Group Hunan Co., Ltd., believes that consumer channels and scenarios are accelerating integration and extension. He suggests deepening AI technological empowerment, building new cross-sector integrated business formats, and releasing the consumption potential of information services.” 全国人大代表、中国移动通信集团湖南有限公司总经理程伟认为，消费渠道和场景正加速实现融合与延伸，建议深化AI技术赋能，打造跨界融合新业态，释放信息服务消费潜力.
“Several NPC deputies, committee members, and industry experts also said that China’s AI development still faces many challenges. Feng Dan, an NPC deputy and vice president of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, believes that while China’s AI industry has made significant progress at the application level, the development of AI-oriented data platforms is relatively lagging. She suggests accelerating the construction of an autonomous and controllable AI-native data platform system. Qi Xiangdong believes that whether it is large language models, AI agents, or embodied intelligence, security concerns are ever-present and inseparable. There is an urgent need to adopt a dual-engine approach of ‘AI + Security;’ to establish a virtuous development cycle for a modernized industrial ecosystem—one built on the framework of ‘security as foundation, intelligent application, and green integration’.” 多位代表委员和业界专家也表示，我国人工智能的发展仍面临诸多挑战。全国人大代表、华中科技大学副校长冯丹认为，我国AI产业虽在应用层面取得显著进展，但面向AI的数据平台发展相对滞后，建议加快构建自主可控的AI原生数据平台体系。齐向东认为，不论是大模型、智能体还是具身智能，安全问题都如影随形，亟需以“AI+安全”双轮驱动，形成“安全筑基-智能应用-绿色融合”的现代化产业体系良性发展循环.