China’s Techno-Economic Statecraft Amid US-China Strategic Rivalry: AI and the “New Whole-State System”

In 2017, the Chinese government launched the State Council’s Program for Developing the New Generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which aimed to build China’s first-mover advantage by fully mobilizing and tapping its national R&D resources in both the public and private sectors. This article argues that the AI example illustrates how China resorts to a new “whole-state” approach to keep pace with the United States in key high-tech development. Such economic statecraft in advancing AI has allowed Beijing to generate faster effects in economic, social, and security dimensions. Beijing has made the application of AI in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) war preparation a state policy in order to compete with Washington in developing emerging technologies on an even footing. Particularly, the PLA regards the development of unmanned combat aerial vehicle equipment as the point of entry into the AI race against other top powers. Amid the US policy to restrict China’s advancement in AI, China’s new whole-state-system approach in AI R&D will continue to mobilize all available human and material resources to sustain the long and fierce competition with the United States.