China Targets 10 Trillion Yuan AI Industry by 2030, NDRC Chief Announces
National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie announced that China's AI-related industry will exceed 10 trillion yuan by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, as the country deepens its "AI+" strategy and manufacturing adoption accelerates.
National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Chairman Zheng Shanjie announced on March 6 that China aims to expand its artificial intelligence-related industry to over 10 trillion yuan by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
Speaking at the economic-themed press conference during the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress, Zheng stated that the government will deepen the "AI+" initiative to drive industrial scale beyond the 10 trillion yuan mark. The target represents a tenfold increase from current levels, underscoring Beijing's commitment to prioritizing AI as a core engine of economic growth.
According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), China's AI core industry surpassed 900 billion yuan in 2024, growing at a robust 24% annual rate. That figure is expected to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan in 2025, with growth rates accelerating further.
Manufacturing adoption is leading the charge. Application of large language models (LLMs) in production and manufacturing segments grew significantly, with use-case representation jumping from 19.9% to 25.9% year-over-year. Consumer markets are also responding strongly; in the first ten months of 2025, online retail sales of AI-powered wearables—including smart glasses and watches—surged 23.1%, highlighting AI's expanding role in driving domestic consumption.
The announcement signals that AI policy will remain central to China's industrial strategy through 2030, with the NDRC positioning the technology as a dual driver of supply-side upgrading and demand-side consumption stimulus.