The Chinese government is restructuring its economic structure around advanced industries, emphasizing 'high-quality productivity' and focusing on accelerating the development of the AI industry through state-owned corporations.
According to the 'China ICT Market Trends 2025' report by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) released on the 25th, China plans to integrate AI technology into various sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and agriculture, to establish the digital economy as a national growth driver.
Notably, Tianyi Cloud, a subsidiary of China Telecom, is leading the establishment of AI infrastructure in China by developing a cloud-based AI computing network and AI infrastructure platform.
The Chinese government formalized its commitment to nurturing the AI industry and enhancing global technological competitiveness by announcing the 'AI+ Initiative' as a national strategy in last year's government work report. Consequently, the core AI industry's scale is projected to reach 400 billion yuan (approximately 79 trillion won) by 2024, with the associated industry scale expected to reach 5 trillion yuan (approximately 987 trillion won).
In relation to cloud computing, which is essential infrastructure for AI, a data center and security platform worth 260 million yuan (approximately 51.3 billion won) is being built in the Shaoguan data center cluster in Guangdong Province, while expansion into smart cities, healthcare, and education is being promoted in cooperation with the Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao economic zones.
As AI technology spreads, crimes exploiting AI are also increasing. From January to May last year, losses from AI-related fraud amounted to 180 million yuan (approximately 35.5 billion won), prompting Chinese authorities to introduce new regulatory measures, including mandatory labeling and metadata insertion for AI-generated content. Additionally, technical and legal measures, such as the mandatory use of watermarks for AI-generated content and strengthening platform responsibilities, are being implemented.
Meanwhile, Beijing boasts the world's eighth largest startup ecosystem, with an ecosystem value 17.8 times higher than the global average and 31 unicorn corporations. Seoul ranked ninth globally, but its ecosystem size, based on 2021-2023 data, is less than half that of Beijing, and the scale of investment recovery (exits) remains at one-third.