On May 8, 2026, a working meeting on the implementation and training of national technical guides, namely the GB/Z 177 series for intelligence grading of artificial intelligence terminals (hereinafter referred to as “the Standard Series”), was held in Beijing. Various participants attended this high-level meeting, including leaders and officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), and representatives from drafting units of the Standard Series, and those from relevant enterprises.

GB/Z 177 standard series are national technical guides that are drafted and managed by SAC/TC28/SC42 (Artificial intelligence). At present, it contains 9 parts, of which part 1 and 2 defines terms, grading principles, indicators and framework together with testing methods for artificial intelligence terminals (hereinafter referred to as “the AI terminals”), whereas parts 3 to 9 specify detailed grading requirements for 7 product categories: mobile terminals, microcomputers, television, glasses, cockpits, speakers, and earphone. Among the nine documents, parts 5 and 6 for glasses and television are under final review for approval, while the rest of the 7 parts have been published on April 30 of 2026 for implementation.

The Standard Series categorizes AI terminals into 4 levels, specifically:

During this working meeting, MIIT leaders who attended the meeting attached great importance to the implementation of the Standard Series, considering them to be significant for standardizing intelligent terminal evaluation, driving product iteration and upgrading, as well as ensuring user consumption experience.

For the next steps of the Standard Series’ implementation, MIIT has stated at the working meeting that the ministry will deepen the implementation of the "AI+" initiative of China to promote innovative development in the AI terminal sector with joint efforts from other relevant national ministries, and specifically:

-   Strengthening the application and implementation of standards by providing standard interpretation and specialized training, establishing a conformity testing platform, and creating demonstration cases and benchmark products for standard application.

-   Accelerating the iteration of the standard system by optimizing and improving standard content, continuously expanding its coverage, and rapidly building a unified standard framework that encompasses various terminal forms.

-   Enhance the consumer-driven influence by effectively implementing standards within the 2026 policy on upgrading consumer goods through trade-in initiative of China, developing a catalogue of AI terminal products to guide public consumption decisions, broadening and deepening ai applications, while creating popular consumption scenarios.

Foreign stakeholders are firstly suggested to note that more parts of this Standard Series are under research and discussion within TC28/SC42, and the product categories that may be prioritized by the SC for new part formulation are elementary computers, smartwatches/fitness bands, projectors, and designer toys. The implementation of the GB/Z documents is also expected to initiate different impacts for different types of interested parties:

-   For AI terminal manufacturers, the standard clarifies the direction of technology research and development for terminal manufacturers, drives product differentiation competition, and accelerates the iteration of AI capabilities.

-   For chip manufacturers, the standard promotes the performance enhancement of on-device AI chips and drives the optimization of heterogeneous computing architectures.

-   Software developers may benefit from unified development standards, which reduce cross-terminal adaptation costs and improve AI application compatibility.

-   For consumers, the standard provides clear product selection criteria, avoids misleading by “pseudo-intelligent” products, and protects consumer rights and interests.