AI innovation is inevitable.

Qinqie He, “The Commercialization of The Domestic AI industry in 2022,” Equal Ocean, 10-5-2022, https://equalocean.com/analysis/2022100518976

Artificial intelligence's growing importance and relevance to technological innovation are undisputed in the digital age. Since 2016, the development of AI has been increasingly embedded in more than 40 countries' national strategies, and governments have started to see artificial intelligence as a nation-defining capability. Under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, an increasing number of countries have recognized that AI plays a crucial role in enhancing global competitiveness and have decided to create formal national AI frameworks. Countries that aren't investing in the AI industry risk becoming obsolete.

In recent years, America, China, the European Commission, Japan and the UK have all invested substantial financial resources to promote the use of AI and released official strategies to address future development of the AI industry. However, countries are taking vastly different approaches to develop AI technology. For instance, America laid out its plan for global dominance and established a national artificial intelligence bureau. The European Commission proposed several federal guidelines for promoting digitalization in European countries. UK released the next 10-year AI strategy, aiming to regain its influence in the field of AI. Japan is the first country to focus on using AI to enhance government performance.

At the same time, China pledged billions in direct AI research spending and planned to lead the world in AI technology by 2035. Chinese AI industry is still experiencing rapid growth in many indicators, and the business environment has remained favorable until now.

The booming development of the Chinese AI industry could contribute to various aspects, such as solid policy support, continuous technology breakthrough in deep learning, diverse market-driven applications and successful commercialization. The Chinese government also actively embraces the metaverse and recognizes it as a critical focus of future AI development. As estimated by the Equal Ocean, Chinese local governments realized more than 20 metaverse-related policies to guide future AI development this year. Such policies include, but are not limited to, "The 14th Five-Year Plan," "White Paper for the development of the metaverse," "Action outlines for promoting software and information technology," and "Blue Paper for artificial intelligence education (2022)".

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China's global share of research papers in the field of AI has vaulted from 18% in 2017 to 22.4% in 2021, surpassing any other country in the world, including the U.S. However, the US achieved AI dominance in terms of enacting rules and development direction. China also consistently files more AI patents than any other country. As of 2021, the number of Chinese AI patents has reached 400,000, comprising more than 75% of world AI patents. Such impressive achievements could translate into China's full advantage in AI innovation and global leadership. These policies also signal to AI entrepreneurs, researchers and investors that AI is backed by the government and worth investing in.