China unveils guidelines to regulate, boost innovative development of AI agents

BEIJING, May 8 -- Chinese authorities have issued implementation guidelines to promote the standardized application and innovative development of artificial intelligence (AI) agents, amid the country's accelerated push to advance the "AI plus" action.

The guidelines, jointly issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), aim to incorporate the State Council's guidelines on implementing the "AI plus" action and foster the orderly growth of intelligent agents as key forms of AI products and services, according to an official statement.

The document defines AI agents as intelligent systems capable of autonomous perception, memory, decision-making, interaction, and execution that are rapidly integrating with cyberspace and the physical world as advanced technologies such as large language models emerge.

The guidelines outline fundamental principles for the development of AI agents, stressing safety and controllability, orderliness and standardization, innovation-driven growth and application-oriented traction.

Four major areas of measures are identified in the guidelines. First, efforts should be made to consolidate development foundations, improve technological infrastructure and establish standards and protocols.

Second, the document calls for ensuring safety and security.

Third, the guidelines call for application-driven traction, identifying 19 typical application scenarios spanning scientific research, industrial development, consumption boost, public well-being and social governance.

Fourth, the guidelines promote the development of an innovation ecosystem, industrial cooperation, and increased application promotion.