China to Accelerate Comprehensive AI Legislation Covering the Full Lifecycle

What happened

The statement came at a November 3 press conference: Wang Ruomeng, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission's Department of Innovation and High-Tech Development, said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period the governance rules system should be improved and compliance boundaries clarified — by systematically reviewing China's AI governance experience and accelerating foundational, comprehensive legislation, while also improving legislation for shared inputs such as data, computing power and algorithms and regulating key application scenarios.

The design includes periodic review and dynamic adjustment: Wang said safety standards and ethical guidelines covering the full AI lifecycle should be established, and given the fast iteration of AI, implementation should be periodically evaluated, with unsuitable rules adjusted dynamically. Supporting arrangements include sector-specific regulatory sandboxes, an appropriate policy transition period with compliance guidance, and requirements for companies to strengthen risk management, proactively disclose safety risks, and report incidents and system vulnerabilities.

Employment effects and new occupations are on the same agenda: Wang said at the briefing that the impact of AI on the employment structure should be closely watched, that new occupations such as model trainers and data annotators should be added to the national occupational classification, and that monitoring and early warning for job-displacement risks should be strengthened, with social security linked to changes in employment structure and working patterns to provide a basic, broad safety net. Reports name DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and Alibaba among the major Chinese AI developers covered.

Key facts

1. Press conference: November 3, 2026, National Development and Reform Commission briefing, with remarks by Wang Ruomeng, deputy director of the Department of Innovation and High-Tech Development
2. Legislation direction: accelerate foundational, comprehensive AI legislation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, building a legal and regulatory system
3. Scope: shared inputs including data, computing power and algorithms, plus key application scenarios; safety standards and ethical guidelines covering the full lifecycle
4. Dynamic mechanism: periodic evaluation of implementation, with unsuitable rules adjusted dynamically
5. Supporting arrangements: sector-specific regulatory sandboxes, a policy transition period with compliance guidance, and company disclosure of risks plus reporting of incidents and vulnerabilities
6. Employment arrangements: close attention to employment-structure effects, stronger monitoring and early warning, and adding model trainers and data annotators to the national occupational classification
7. Background: China already has interim measures for generative AI services in force since 2023; this legislation is a foundational, comprehensive framework