Beijing has unveiled a sweeping three-year roadmap to overhaul its platform economy, shifting focus from the dominance of internet giants to a more integrated ecosystem where small-scale AI entrepreneurs play a central role. The "Action Plan for Collaborative Development (2026-2028)," released by seven top ministries including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), marks a strategic pivot toward what officials call "New Quality Productive Forces."
By 2028, the government intends to foster a tiered hierarchy of innovation, ranging from tech giants to what it officially terms "AI One-Person Companies" (AIOPC). These "super-individuals" are expected to leverage large language models and autonomous agents to perform complex tasks—from product development to market operations—that previously required significant corporate overhead. This move signals a formal recognition that generative AI has fundamentally lowered the cost of sophisticated entrepreneurship.
This policy is a direct response to the structural stagnation observed in China's digital sector over the past decade. Authorities acknowledge that the platform economy has moved from a period of high-speed growth to one of "stock competition," where low-level price wars and the dominance of a few "key ones" have stifled the creative potential of the "vast many." The new mandate requires major platforms to open their data, computing power, and toolsets to smaller entities to ensure a more equitable distribution of innovative capacity.
The plan sets specific benchmarks for the next three years, including the release of three distinct "platform open lists" and the cultivation of at least 60 tangible AI service scenarios. To support this, the state will promote the development of indigenous high-end chips and next-generation operating systems. The goal is to transform the platform economy from a "scale-driven" model into an "innovation-driven" engine that supports China’s broader goals of high-tech industrialization.
Local implementation is already accelerating in regional tech hubs. In Wuxi, the municipal government has introduced "entrepreneurship gift packs" specifically for AI solo-preneurs, which include financial credits and streamlined intellectual property services. By lowering entry barriers, Beijing hopes to mobilize a new generation of tech talent who can operate with high agility in niche vertical markets while remaining tethered to the state’s broader technological infrastructure.