On July 2, 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), together with the other two relevant government departments, jointly issued the Guidelines for the Construction of the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Comprehensive Standardization System (2024 Edition) (hereinafter referred to as “the Guidelines”). This new edition updates the previous version issued in 2020, addressing emerging standardization needs and demands. 

The Guidelines aim to create a standardized system encompassing the entire life cycle of the artificial intelligence industry, focusing on seven key areas: basics and generics, foundational support, critical technologies, intelligent products and services, enabling new industrialization, industrial applications, and security governance (please refer to Diagram 1). Foundational support includes specifications on data, computing power, and algorithms, while critical technologies address requirements for processing text, speech, and images. A notable addition in this edition is the "enabling new industrialization" section, which aims to standardize technical requirements for AI technology in intelligent manufacturing and upgrading key industries.

Diagram 1: New Version of AI Standard System

The Guidelines also set targets to be achieved by 2026, including formulation of over 50 new national and sector standards; participation of over 1,000 enterprises in official standard publicity and promotion sessions, typically organized by governmental authorities and relevant institutions; involvement in the development of more than 20 international standards.

As technology based on large models continues to evolve, and artificial intelligence finds broader applications in various sectors, China has established over 400 national intelligent manufacturing demonstration plants and more than 4,500 AI enterprises. Additionally, MIIT announced plans to establish sectoral standardization technical committees for artificial intelligence, with the secretariat hosted at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. MIIT is also taking steps in other emerging industries, such as setting up sectoral technical committees for brain-machine interfaces and releasing two mandatory national standards for intelligent and connected vehicles.

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