(Yicai Global) Feb. 24 -- China will promote the development of basic disciplines and continue to support emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and ChatGPT-like products, the minister for science and technology said.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has formulated a 10-year plan for basic research and emerging industries, Wang Zhigang said at a press conference today. The government will increase investment and guide the whole of society, including local governments, businesses, and social forces, to increase investment and donations, he added.

China’s research and development spending more than tripled to CNY3.1 trillion (USD447 billion) last year from 2012, according to official data. Investment in basic research surged almost four-fold to CNY195.1 billion (USD28.2 billion) from CNY49.9 billion (USD7.2 billion), with an average annual growth rate of 15 percent, nearly twice that of all R&D spending. The proportion of basic research spending to R&D spending rose to 6.3 percent from 4.8 percent.

In the next step, China will focus on achieving major original results and strengthening the development of exploratory, systematic, and applied basic research, Wang noted.

As a strategic emerging technology, AI has become an important driving force for scientific and technological innovation, industrial upgrade, and productivity increases, so the ministry will continue to provide great support, said Chen Jiachang, director-general of its high and new technology department.

Human-computer dialogue based on natural language understanding is an essential direction in the development of AI, Chen noted, adding that the ChatGPT bot has recently become a phenomenon that shows a high level of human-computer interaction and has huge potential to be applied in other industries.

In terms of policy, China will further strengthen service support and create a fair and just policy environment for all kinds of firms to improve their innovation capabilities, said Wu Zhaohui, vice minister for science and technology. While emphasizing the main subject of corporate tech innovation. China should also give full play to the role of research institutes and universities, Wu added.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione