Future China: AI Leader in 2030?

The rapid acceleration of scientific and technological progress, which began at the beginning of the XXI century, has become a decisive factor in influencing global economy. This issue is especially acute in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). For the moment the USA and China are the main competitors in this area. Based on innovation leaders’ practices China has hailed the development of AI as the main driver of the economy. The main goal is to foster the national AI sector to leading positions by 2030, overtaking its closest rival, the United States. To meet this challenge, China launched a strategic program, and by 2020 its implementation has already provided massive success in the volume of AI patenting and related scientific articles. However, these innovative determinants’ successes are offset by an intense lag in the level of scientific and practical competence of AI talents and the development of breakthrough technologies in microelectronics (the absence of national chips). The article discusses the main determinants of Chines innovative transformation in AI and assesses the prospects for its implementation. Due to the growing uncertainty and technological confrontation, the author proves that the global race’s leadership for China’s AI sector may not take place. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.