# intelligent economy

China’s Provinces Race to Build a 10-Trillion-Yuan AI Economy — But Each Is Betting on a Different Path

China has made the development of an ‘intelligent economy’ a national priority, with central targets to grow AI‑related industries to more than 10 trillion yuan. All 31 provinces have laid out AI plans for 2026, but strategies vary widely: Beijing focuses on research and governance, Shanghai on finance and open source, coastal provinces on manufacturing upgrades, and interior regions on compute and niche specialisation.