Conceptual diagram of AI Photo: VCG

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the nation's top industry regulator, recently unveiled guidelines on advancing the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and the information and communications sector, setting out development goals through 2030 and underscoring the role of networks, computing power and other digital infrastructure in supporting AI growth.

The guidelines set out 17 tasks across four areas aimed at fostering deeper integration between AI and information and communications technologies, according to a statement released by the MIIT on Wednesday.

A stronger AI infrastructure will help accelerate the development of China's domestic software and hardware ecosystem, while lowering the cost of AI adoption through secure and self-reliant data centers, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

China is entering a critical stage of shifting from expanding computing capacity to improving its quality and efficiency, Wang said. Enhanced information infrastructure will help ease bottlenecks in AI model training and inference, reduce costs and speed up the commercialization and industrial adoption of AI technologies, he said.

By 2028, China aims to establish an initial innovation framework in which AI and the information and communications sector reinforce each other's development.

The country's intelligent network operation and service capabilities are expected to reach internationally advanced levels, while communications networks will achieve an initial stage of high-level autonomous operation, according to the guidelines. More than 30 high-value application scenarios are expected to emerge, alongside a number of flagship AI applications and specialized AI agents.

The document also highlights the importance of strengthening the infrastructure underpinning AI development. By 2028, coverage of city-level computing networks capable of providing one-millisecond latency access is expected to exceed 75 percent, further enhancing the country's AI capabilities.

Wang noted that China has already established the foundations of a nationwide computing network through the "East Data, West Computing" Initiative. However, the rapid growth of large AI models has exposed structural imbalances in computing resources. Building an interconnected computing network would allow resources to be allocated more efficiently and help offset localized computing constraints through networked computing clusters, he said.

He added that wider coverage of one-millisecond latency computing networks could help accelerate the adoption of low-latency applications such as autonomous driving, remote healthcare and industrial digitalization, making AI infrastructure more accessible across the broader economy.

Looking ahead, the guidelines target major breakthroughs in key technologies supporting the convergence of AI and communications networks by 2030. It also calls for significant improvements in integrated sensing, communications, computing and intelligence services.

A key focus of the guidelines is the intelligent upgrading of the information and communications industry. Measures include advancing intelligent communications technologies, supporting the development and application of network-based AI agents, improving the intelligence level of network equipment, and enhancing smart capabilities across network construction, operation and maintenance.

Meanwhile, the document outlines steps to strengthen the foundations of AI development. It calls for faster deployment of 400Gbps and 800Gbps backbone transmission networks, optimization of network corridors linking national computing hubs in eastern, central and western China, and broader adoption of high-speed optical transmission systems.

Other measures include improving the layout of internet backbone interconnection points and next-generation internet exchange centers to enhance data transmission quality, streamlining network architecture from core to edge, improving computing-access networks in key locations, and building metropolitan computing networks capable of millisecond-level low-latency access.

As large AI models are being adopted across a growing range of industries and AI agents are increasingly reshaping production and business processes, high-quality AI data infrastructure has become a key pillar supporting the next stage of AI development, Xinhua News Agency reported.

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported  that China is preparing to spend around 2 trillion yuan ($295 billion) over the next five years on building data centers across the country, fueling Beijing's ambition to propel the domestic AI sector and surpass the US in a potentially game-changing technology.

The report said the over-arching plan represents Beijing's most aggressive endeavor yet to lay the foundation for future Chinese AI development.

China has continued to strengthen policy support for AI development, viewing the technology as a key driver of future economic growth and industrial upgrading.

This wording in the key document marks a progression in policy thinking. In 2024, the government work report first introduced the "AI Plus" initiative, while the 2025 report advocated for its continued advancement, this year, it has moved further, framing AI as an engine of a broader economic transformation, per Xinhua.