China’s strategy to grow its science and technology talent includes: 1) improving domestic education; 2) attracting overseas Chinese talent; and 3) attracting foreign talent. While China’s commitment to domestic education reform has achieved remarkable results, significant challenges remain.

China aims to become “the world’s primary AI innovation center” by 2030. Toward that end, the Chinese government is spending heavily on AI research and development (R&D)—but perhaps not as heavily as some have thought. This memo provides a provisional, open-source estimate of China’s spending.

See our translation of a Ministry of Education plan issued in April 2018. The plan lays out objectives designed to significantly enhance China’s cadre of AI talent and its university AI curricula by 2030.

China is broadening its deeply rooted technology transfer practices to include artificial intelligence. As these efforts bear fruit, we discuss how the United States can and should respond.