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2.3.3. China’s AI Governance- Strategic Control and State Alignment

China’s AI Governance: Strategic Control and State Alignment

China’s AI governance is characterized by centralized, top-down regulation embedded in national security, economic planning, and ideological control. In China, AI is governed not simply as an economic domain, but as a strategic apparatus of state control and influence.

Regulatory authority resides with central agencies such as the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). These institutions are empowered to monitor and shape AI development according to state-defined priorities.

Implementation Tools

China has issued multiple enforceable regulations targeting high-risk or sensitive AI functions:

  • Algorithmic Recommendation Provisions (2022): Require platforms to register recommendation algorithms, provide opt-out mechanisms, and ensure alignment with socialist values.

  • Deep Synthesis Regulation (2023): Governs generative AI, requiring watermarking, disclosure, and prevention of misinformation.

  • Draft AI Law (in progress): Seeks to unify current rules, adding requirements for fairness, transparency, and national security compliance.

All commercial AI systems must undergo pre-deployment registration and can be suspended or modified by regulators post-release.

Governance Impact

China’s model allows for rapid rollout of rules, often with shorter implementation timelines than Western systems.It combines preemptive regulation, lifecycle oversight, and real-time control, particularly over:

  • Generative AI

  • Surveillance technologies

  • Online content moderation

It has resulted in:

  • Strong uptake of rules across platforms

  • Greater consistency in national enforcement

  • Reduced reliance on self-regulation

Criticisms or Trade-offs

  • AI systems are required to adhere to state ideology, limiting freedom of expression and reinforcing political control.

  • Oversight is opaque and non-participatory citizens and civil society groups have no formal role in shaping policy.

  • International concerns center on human rights risks, including mass surveillance, profiling, and censorship.

  • There is limited public transparency about how enforcement decisions are made.

Global Relevance

Despite ethical concerns, China’s model is gaining traction in countries that prioritize technological sovereignty, state stability, or institutional control. Some emerging economies see its fast-moving enforcement and clarity of command as a model for low-friction digital governance.

China also shapes global technical standards via aggressive participation in international forums and export of AI governance practices through Belt and Road partnerships.