China unveils 17 AI policy measures to embed technology in consumer economy

China's Ministry of Commerce unveiled 17 policy measures on Thursday designed to embed artificial intelligence across the country's consumer economy — spanning smart consumer electronics, humanoid robots, retail, and public services — in a move signalling Beijing's intent to bring AI into the daily lives of ordinary households and businesses.

State broadcaster CCTV reported the announcement, which marks a significant broadening of China's AI strategy beyond its traditional industrial focus.

Smart devices and a new consumer electronics direction

On the goods side, the ministry is targeting a fundamental shift in how consumer electronics are designed, marketed, and sold — moving devices away from purely functional tools and towards fully AI-integrated systems. The policy measures are intended to accelerate this transition across the consumer market as a whole.

Humanoid robots earmarked as priority industry

The policies also include explicit plans to cultivate a domestic market for humanoid robots, an industry Beijing has been actively promoting as a national priority. The sector has attracted significant government and private investment, with Chinese companies Unitree and UBTECH among those competing to establish commercial footholds in both industrial and consumer spaces.

AI set to reshape China's service sector

The services dimension of the policy push is equally ambitious, targeting AI's expanding role across retail, public services, and personal services. Lin Jian, Deputy Director of the International Trade Cooperation Institute within the Ministry of Commerce, said the measures were designed to address a long-standing structural weakness in China's service economy.

"The application of artificial intelligence is expected to help break through the constraint of high labour cost and poor standardisation in service consumption," Lin said, as cited by CCTV.