China announces high-tech fund to grow AI, emerging industries

Fresh off the global success of DeepSeek’s latest artificial intelligence reasoning model, China’s top economic officials have vowed to set up a state-backed fund to support technological innovation.

Fresh off the global success of DeepSeek’s latest artificial intelligence reasoning model, China’s top economic officials have vowed to set up a state-backed fund to support technological innovation. The “state venture capital guidance fund” will focus on cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology and hydrogen energy storage, Zheng Shanjie, head of China’s state economic planner, told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of the annual gatherings of China’s rubber-stamp national legislature and advisory body. The fund is expected to attract nearly 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) in capital over 20 years from local governments and the private sector, added Zheng, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission. Chinese leaders see high-end chips, quantum computing, robotics and AI as critical to powering economic growth and upgrading manufacturing. But China is facing mounting pressure from US tech restrictions. Zheng struck a defiant tone at the news conference, hailing China’s rapid development in microchips and AI large language models as well as industrial and humanoid robots. “Scenes once only seen in science fiction are now becoming reality. We are steadily moving toward the global frontiers of technology and innovation,” Zheng said. “This proves that the suppression and blockade attempt by certain forces only serve to accelerate our drive for independent innovation,” he added in an apparent reference to the United States.