China's AI Landscape Curriculum
Week 4: China’s AI Regulations

China’s AI Regulations

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IN THIS LESSON

How does China’s political system produce AI regulations?

China’s AI regulatory landscape is shaped by the PRC’s political institutions, regulatory processes, and the country’s internal and global strategic ambitions. This week builds context on how the PRC’s AI regulations are made, which is fundamental to understanding emerging AI developments in China and the future of global AI regulation.

  • Structure of AI Regulations | Convergence Analysis (2024) (15 minutes)

    • Stop at the EU section (read through the China section)

    "In this section, we’ll discuss a multifaceted, high-level topic: How are current AI regulatory policies structured, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of their choices? By focusing on the existing regulatory choices of the EU, US, and China, we’ll compare and contrast key decisions in terms of classifying AI models and the organization of existing AI governance structures."

  • China’s AI Regulations and How They Get Made (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2023) (30 minute)

    • Summary

    • Introduction

    • “The Underlying Structure of China’s AI Regulations” through Conclusion

    This reading provides an overview of the PRC’s existing AI regulations and how these AI regulations are made. It highlights how different stakeholders can influence AI policy in China. "Global partners need a better understanding of what, exactly, this regulation entails, what it says about China’s AI priorities, and what lessons other AI regulators can learn.”

    "Domestic Governance" in "State of AI Safety in China” (Concordia AI, 2025) (45 minutes)

    Provides an overview of China’s domestic AI governance strategy.

  • Resource list: China and Tech Policy (Horizon Institute for Public Service, 30 mins)

    • Spend 30 minutes looking at any resources that seem useful to you. We suggest you sign up for a newsletter or two to get ongoing updates on Chinese AI policy. Remember to bookmark any interesting resources.

  • China’s GenAI Content Security Standard: An Explainer | ChinaTalk (2025) (20 minutes)

    In 2024, the PRC released its most comprehensive standards framework on AI safety/security. This explainer aims to provide an easy-to-understand, English-language explanation while providing a detailed analysis (based on a published draft version) of the framework.

    China's AI Industrial Policy with Kyle Chan (CSIS Podcasts, 2025)

    “In this episode, we are joined by Kyle Chan, postdoctoral researcher at Princeton’s Sociology Department and adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation, to explore China's approach to AI industrial policy. We discuss the fundamentals of industrial policy and how it operates in China's digital technology sector (4:15), the evolution of China's AI industrial policy toolkit and its impact on companies (19:29), China's current AI priorities, protectionism strategies, and adoption patterns (47:05), and the future trajectory of China's AI industrial policy amid US-China competition (1:12:22). Kyle co-authored RAND's June 26 report "Full Stack: China’s Evolving Industrial Policy for AI," which is available here.””