Li Xunlei Interprets the "15th Five-Year Plan": AI Truly Becomes a Pillar Industry for National Economic Growth

Reprinted from: Cailian Press

Cailian Press, March 15 — (Reporter Wang Yuling) On the evening of March 13, the “Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China” was released, officially outlining China’s socio-economic development roadmap for the next five years.

In the “Fifteenth Five-Year” plan outline, enhancing the level of digital intelligence development is given a dedicated chapter, with the term “Artificial Intelligence” mentioned 30 times throughout the document, marking that the “AI+” initiative has shifted from macro calls to systematic planning. The outline clearly sketches a development path where “AI+” deeply integrates with science and technology, industrial development, consumption upgrading, people’s well-being, governance capacity, and global cooperation. “AI+” has become the core engine of new productive forces.

Chapter 13 of the outline, “Comprehensively Promoting Digital Intelligence Technology Empowerment,” emphasizes that “the full implementation of the ‘AI+’ action plan should be strengthened, integrating artificial intelligence with technological innovation, industrial development, cultural construction, social welfare, and social governance, seizing the high ground of AI industry applications, and empowering all sectors of the economy.”

Li Xunlei, Chief Economist at Zhongtai International, told Cailian Press that if the past was about AI “+”, then the coming years will be about AI “×”. AI will evolve from a cutting-edge technology into a pillar industry driving national economic growth.

Li Xunlei summarized four key points regarding artificial intelligence in the outline.

Point 1: A qualitative change in development goals, creating a new “intelligent economy” valued at 10 trillion yuan.

The biggest difference between the 15th and 14th Five-Year Plans is that AI is tasked with “restructuring the underlying logic of economic operation.” From “empowering” to “reshaping”: if the past was about AI “+”, then in the coming years, AI “×” will give rise to a new form of intelligent economy centered on “data + computing power + algorithms.” The National Development and Reform Commission explicitly states that by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan, China’s AI-related industry scale will exceed 10 trillion yuan. This means AI will truly grow from a frontier technology into a key industry that drives economic growth.

Point 2: A shift in technological approach, from “large model training” to “application implementation.”

Policies clearly require “seizing the high ground of AI industry applications,” indicating a shift in focus: with deeper application, the demand for inference computing power will grow exponentially. Future development will shift from merely training models to “computing and electricity collaboration” and “intelligent computing clusters,” encouraging the development of high-efficiency specialized inference chips, making computing power as convenient as electricity for users.

Point 3: Expansion of deep integration, covering five major fields, to solve real problems.

The 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly states that AI should be integrated with technological innovation, industrial development, cultural construction, social welfare, and social governance. This means AI should not stay at the flashy technology level but must address practical pain points. For example, in industry and people’s livelihoods, beyond achieving “uninterrupted” factory production (such as UBTECH humanoid robots), AI is deeply integrated into healthcare (e.g., Guangxi’s “AI Digital Specialist Doctor,” Shenzhen’s diagnostic assistance systems), government services (Shenzhen’s “Deep Xiao i” intelligent customer service), and other areas.

Point 4: Fundamental support, shifting from “technological competition” to “talent ecosystem” competition.

The competition in AI is essentially a contest of national innovation system effectiveness. Regarding education reform, to adapt to the AI era, the 15th Five-Year Plan will deepen integrated reforms in education, science, and technology talent development. It is recommended to establish interdisciplinary “AI+X” fields, and even develop dedicated “vocational education large models” and “intelligent agents” to cultivate new types of workers capable of managing AI. To promote inclusiveness, efforts such as building open-source communities and reducing costs for small and medium-sized enterprises will make AI no longer exclusive to top laboratories but accessible as a “tool” for the masses, stimulating societal innovation.

Li Xunlei stated that during the 15th Five-Year Plan, AI development will be a comprehensive leap from “technological breakthroughs” to “system integration.” It must compete for technological high ground while rooting deeply in factories, farms, communities, and hospitals. The ultimate goal is to make AI a “infrastructure” that promotes social progress and improves people’s livelihoods. These five years will determine whether we can truly seize this technological revolution’s “leading edge” and turn it into a new advantage in national competition.

(Reporter Wang Yuling, Cailian Press)