Beijing will implement artificial intelligence (AI) lessons across all primary and secondary schools later this year as part of China’s efforts to accelerate AI development and nurture talent in the field, state media reported on Wednesday.
China’s AI industry has been in the global spotlight, particularly after DeepSeek released an advanced version of its chatbot in January, which some claim rivals or even outperforms Western counterparts like ChatGPT at a significantly lower cost.
From September, schools in the Chinese capital will provide at least eight hours of AI education per academic year, according to state news agency Xinhua. These lessons can be standalone courses or integrated into subjects like information technology and science.
The Beijing Municipal Education Commission announced plans to introduce “innovative teaching methods,” incorporating AI companions and AI research assistants to enhance interactive learning between students and machines.
Additionally, Beijing aims to strengthen collaboration between universities and secondary schools to develop advanced AI education programmes tailored to cultivating exceptional talent.
The initiative aligns with China’s broader push to dominate the AI sector. Last month, President Xi Jinping met with Chinese tech leaders, a rare engagement seen as a positive signal for the industry.
Chinese firms have been making significant strides, with Alibaba recently unveiling its QwQ-32B model, which it claims performs comparably to DeepSeek while requiring less data. Another AI agent, Manus, is also gaining attention for its advanced capabilities.
