China, the United States, and the European Union — statutes, measures, standards, and what is coming next.
Updated 2026-07-31 · primary sources linked
Standards & technical governance16
New TC260 AI standard projects launched July 2026 (safety guardrails, anthropomorphic interaction, assessment bodies, AI agents) 《网络安全技术 人工智能安全护栏技术要求》《网络安全技术 人工智能拟人化互动服务安全基本要求》《网络安全技术 人工智能安全测评机构能力基本要求》《数据安全技术 智能体数据处理安全要求》（征集参编单位）
TC260 · 2026-07-31announced
On 2026-07-31 TC260 opened recruitment of drafting participants (征集参编单位) for four new AI security standards: technical requirements for AI safety guardrails, basic security requirements for anthropomorphic (companion-style) AI interaction services, capability requirements for AI security assessment/testing bodies, and data-security requirements for AI agent data processing. Together with the classification/grading draft and the 2026-07-10 kickoff of six AI application security guiding technical documents, these signal the 2026-2027 direction of Chinese AI standardization: agents, companion AI, evaluation infrastructure, and runtime guardrails. All are at project stage with no legal effect yet.
—AI safety guardrail technical requirements — first standards project on runtime guardrails
—Anthropomorphic/companion AI interaction security requirements — responds to emotional-AI concerns
—Capability requirements for AI security assessment bodies — building third-party evaluation infrastructure
—AI agent data-processing security requirements under the data-security standard track
All four notices verified on tc260.org.cn dated 2026-07-31. Source URL is the safety-guardrails notice; the others: anthropomorphic interaction https://www.tc260.org.cn/portal/article/2/640037da350b4b459ef60810b729802b, assessment bodies https://www.tc260.org.cn/portal/article/2/b6d3d059836344089c3907987137fff9, agent data processing https://www.tc260.org.cn/portal/article/2/1c87982643394f55af90291d5e49857b. Six-project kickoff (2026-07-10, guiding technical documents, not full GB standards): https://www.tc260.org.cn/portal/article/1/c38f19280f2b4b5284c642a174f27d38.
Draft national standard: Cybersecurity Technology — Classification and Grading Method for AI Application Security 《网络安全技术 人工智能应用安全分类分级方法》（征求意见稿）
TC260 · 2026-07-15draft
Draft recommended national standard released for public comment on 2026-07-15 that would translate the AI Safety Governance Framework 2.0's risk-grading concept into a formal method for classifying and grading AI applications by security risk. If finalized, it would likely become the reference for tiered regulatory treatment of AI applications. Currently a draft with no legal effect.
—Would operationalize the five-tier risk grading floated in the AI Safety Governance Framework 2.0
—Draft for comment; not in force; deadline stated on the notice as 2027-09-13
—Part of a broader July 2026 push: kickoff for six AI application security national standardization guiding technical documents held 2026-07-10
URL verified live: TC260 comment-solicitation notice, comment period opened 2026-07-15; the notice states comments are due by 2027-09-13 as written (an unusually long window — possibly a typo on TC260's site for 2026-09-13; cite the notice text, not an assumed 60-day window). Comments to TC260 secretariat (CESI).
SAMR/SAC (drafted under TC260) · 2026-02-01in force
Recommended national standard establishing a security framework for AI computing platforms (AI compute infrastructure): security functions, security management, and role-based security responsibilities across platform design, construction, operation, and use. Addresses threats such as infrastructure vulnerabilities, training-data leakage, and adversarial-sample attacks. Voluntary (GB/T).
—First national standard focused on AI compute-platform security
—Specifies security functions, management requirements, and role responsibilities
—Voluntary (GB/T); drafting reportedly led by Huawei (per industry press, unconfirmed on SAMR record)
URL verified live; confirms published 2025-08-01, effective 2026-02-01, 推荐性. Date is implementation date. The SAMR record does not list drafting organizations; the Huawei-led drafting claim rests on industry press and was not independently confirmed in this audit.
SAMR/SAC (drafted under TC260) · 2025-11-01in force
China's first national standard dedicated to generative AI service security, upgrading TC260-003 into a formal recommended (GB/T) standard. It covers training-data (corpus) security, model security, and required security measures, and specifies assessment methods; it is the supporting technical document for the Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services. Nominally voluntary as a GB/T, but functionally quasi-mandatory because conformity is assessed in the generative AI service filing process.
—Recommended (GB/T) in form; de facto binding via the CAC filing/security-assessment regime
—Covers corpus source/content/annotation security, model security, security measures, and assessment requirements
—Replaces TC260-003 as the operative benchmark from 2025-11-01
—Drafters reported to include CNCERT, CESI, and major platforms (Baidu, Alibaba, etc.)
Both URLs verified live. Date is the implementation date: openstd.samr.gov.cn record (https://openstd.samr.gov.cn/bzgk/std/newGbInfo?hcno=F67D3F376E0A0A0FF5317FB36B32A30A) confirms published 2025-04-25, effective 2025-11-01, 推荐性. Source URL is TC260's official full-text page (posted 2025-06-30).
GB/T 45652-2025 Cybersecurity Technology — Security Specification for Generative AI Pre-training and Fine-tuning Data GB/T 45652—2025《网络安全技术 生成式人工智能预训练和优化训练数据安全规范》
SAMR/SAC (drafted under TC260) · 2025-11-01in force
Recommended national standard governing security of data used in pre-training and optimization (fine-tuning) of generative AI models: data sourcing, content security processing, and management requirements across the training-data pipeline. Part of the trio of generative-AI security standards published 2025-04-25 alongside GB/T 45654 and GB/T 45674. Voluntary in form, but practically relevant to the filing security assessment.
—Applies to pre-training and optimization-training data security for generative AI
URL verified live; confirms published 2025-04-25, effective 2025-11-01, 推荐性. Date is implementation date. Drafter list (Zhongguancun Laboratory, universities, platforms) is from the standard's front matter as reported and was not independently re-verified on the SAMR page, which omits drafters.
GB/T 45674-2025 Cybersecurity Technology — Security Specification for Generative AI Data Annotation GB/T 45674—2025《网络安全技术 生成式人工智能数据标注安全规范》
SAMR/SAC (drafted under TC260) · 2025-11-01in force
Recommended national standard setting security requirements for the data-annotation stage of generative AI training: annotation platforms/tools, annotation rules, annotator personnel management, and annotation verification. It gives service providers and annotation vendors a common security baseline for the labeling workflows that shape model alignment. Voluntary (GB/T).
—Covers annotation platform/tool security, annotation rules, personnel, and verification
—Aimed at service providers, annotation vendors, and data commissioning parties
—Voluntary (GB/T); one of the three generative-AI security standards effective 2025-11-01
URL verified live; confirms published 2025-04-25, effective 2025-11-01, 推荐性. Date is implementation date. Note: some early commentary mis-cited this standard as 'GB/T 45653'; the correct number is GB/T 45674-2025.
Three national standards on generative AI security take effect (GB/T 45654-2025 and companion data standards) GB/T 45654-2025《网络安全技术 生成式人工智能服务安全基本要求》等三项国家标准
SAMR / Standardization Administration of China (TC260) · 2025-11-01standard
The first national-standard tier of generative AI security requirements took effect on 1 November 2025: GB/T 45654-2025 (Basic Security Requirements for Generative AI Services), GB/T 45652-2025 (security specification for pre-training and fine-tuning data) and GB/T 45674-2025 (security specification for data annotation). GB/T 45654 upgrades the earlier TC260 technical document (TC260-003) used in model filing/security assessment into a formal standard: corpus source vetting (sources with over 5% illegal/harmful content must not be used), model security requirements, and a catalogue of 31 safety risks for testing and annotation. These standards are the de facto checklist for the CAC filing regime.
—GB/T 45654-2025 succeeds the TC260-003 'Basic Security Requirements' used in generative AI filings since 2024
—Training-data rule of thumb: corpora from any source exceeding 5% illegal/harmful content must not be collected or used
—Safety-annotation coverage of 31 enumerated risk categories; separate execution and audit roles required
—Together with GB 45438-2025, forms an unusually granular binding technical stack for generative AI compliance
Date is the implementation date; the three standards were published 2025-04-25 (GB/T 45652-2025's release/implementation dates verified via SAMR standards-platform records). URL is TC260's official full-text release of GB/T 45654-2025 (verified, posted 2025-06-30). Recommended (GB/T) standards, but effectively mandatory in practice through the model-filing process.
Cybersecurity Technology — Labeling Method for Content Generated by Artificial Intelligence (mandatory national standard GB 45438-2025) 网络安全技术 人工智能生成合成内容标识方法（GB 45438-2025）
SAMR / Standardization Administration of China (drafted under TC260, Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission Office supervision) · 2025-09-01standard
The mandatory (GB, not GB/T) national standard that specifies exactly how explicit and implicit labels required by the Labeling Measures must be implemented — formats, placement, and metadata fields for text, image, audio, video, and virtual-scene content. Because it is a mandatory standard, compliance is legally required of generation service providers and content propagation platforms, making it the technical backbone of China's AI-content labeling regime.
—Released 2025-02-28, effective 2025-09-01, synchronized with the Labeling Measures
—Specifies explicit label presentation (text/audio/visual cues) per content type and placement rules
—Specifies implicit label metadata embedded in file data, including fields identifying the generation service provider and content attributes
—Applies to generation-synthesis service providers and content propagation/distribution service providers
URL is SAMR's official national-standard disclosure entry, verified (release 2025-02-28, implementation 2025-09-01, status 现行). Mandatory (强制性国家标准) status confirmed by CAC's official explainer '一图读懂｜强制性国家标准《网络安全技术 人工智能生成合成内容标识方法》' (March 2025) and by the GB (non-/T) designation. Date given is the implementation date. A companion practice guide on service-provider coding rules supports the implicit-label provider codes.
GB 45438-2025 Cybersecurity Technology — Labeling Method for Content Generated by Artificial Intelligence (mandatory standard) GB 45438—2025《网络安全技术 人工智能生成合成内容标识方法》
SAMR/SAC (drafted under TC260); implemented alongside the CAC/MIIT/MPS/NRTA Labeling Measures · 2025-09-01in force
China's first mandatory (GB, not GB/T) national standard on AI: it prescribes how AI-generated/synthetic content must be labeled, defining explicit labels (text/audio/graphic cues perceivable by users) and implicit labels (file-metadata fields and content watermarks carrying provider and provenance information). It is the technical companion to the four-agency Measures for Labeling AI-Generated Synthetic Content and took effect the same day, binding generative AI service providers and content-dissemination platforms. Non-compliance is enforceable through the Measures and the underlying deep synthesis and generative AI rules.
—Mandatory; effective 2025-09-01 together with the Labeling Measures (标识办法)
—Explicit labels: content-level and interactive-interface cues users can perceive
URL verified live; confirms published 2025-02-28, effective 2025-09-01. Date is implementation date. Mandatory status confirmed: TC260 secretariat notice 网安秘字〔2025〕118号 (tc260.org.cn, 2025-08-28) expressly calls it 强制性国家标准GB 45438—2025, and the GB (no /T) number denotes a mandatory standard; the openstd summary field renders the type ambiguously, so rely on the number and TC260's own characterization. The Labeling Measures were issued 2025-03-07 and published 2025-03-14, effective 2025-09-01 (https://www.cac.gov.cn/2025-03/14/c_1743654684782215.htm, verified).
GB 45438-2025 Cybersecurity Technology — Labeling Methods for AI-Generated Synthetic Content (mandatory national standard) GB 45438-2025《网络安全技术 人工智能生成合成内容标识方法》
SAMR / Standardization Administration of China (standard centralized under the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission Office) · 2025-09-01standard
China's first mandatory (GB, not GB/T) national standard for AI, specifying the technical methods for explicit and implicit labeling of AI-generated content — label placement for text, image, audio, video and virtual scenes, and metadata field requirements. Released 28 February 2025 and effective 1 September 2025 in step with the labeling Measures, it turns the labeling obligation into testable technical requirements binding on generation and distribution service providers.
—Mandatory standard (GB) — compliance is legally required, unlike recommended GB/T standards
—Specifies explicit label formats per modality and implicit metadata fields identifying service provider and content ID
—Took effect the same day as the labeling Measures, forming a package
Verified against the SAMR national-standard full-text disclosure platform record at this URL: mandatory GB standard, released 2025-02-28, implemented 2025-09-01; issued by SAMR/SAC with the standard centralized (归口) under the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission Office. Date given is the implementation date.
Six Practice Guides on AI-Generated Synthetic Content Labeling (file metadata implicit labeling series) 《人工智能生成合成内容标识方法 文件元数据隐式标识 文本文件》等6项网络安全标准实践指南
TC260 Secretariat (网安秘字〔2025〕118号) · 2025-08-28in force
A batch of six cybersecurity standard practice guides operationalizing GB 45438-2025's implicit-labeling requirements ahead of its 2025-09-01 effective date, covering file-metadata implicit labeling methods for AI-generated text, image, audio, and video files, plus security protection and detection guidance for metadata labels. Voluntary guidance that fills in file-format-level technical detail beneath the mandatory labeling standard.
—Six guides on file-metadata implicit labeling by content/file type, released days before GB 45438-2025 took effect
—Includes security-protection and detection guidance for metadata implicit labels
—Voluntary; supports compliance with the mandatory labeling standard
URL verified live: TC260 secretariat release notice dated 2025-08-28, document number 网安秘字〔2025〕118号, which also expressly describes GB 45438-2025 as a 强制性国家标准 (mandatory national standard). Date is the release notice date. Voluntary practice guides.
Guidelines for Building the AI Safety Governance Standards System in Industry and Information Technology (2025 Edition) 《工业和信息化领域人工智能安全治理标准体系建设指南（2025版）》
MIIT AI Standardization Technical Committee (人工智能标准化技术委员会) · 2025-07in force
MIIT's sector-specific companion to the 2024 national guide, focused on AI safety governance standards in industry and IT. It structures work across seven domains — governance capacity, foundational security, network security, data security, algorithm/model security, application security, and enablement security — under the principle of coordinating development and security. Planning document; not binding.
Secondary source (secrss), verified live: confirms release of the final 2025 edition in July 2025 by MIIT's AI Standardization Technical Committee and the seven domains. A draft for public comment circulated in spring 2025 (reported 2025-03-27, comments due 2025-04-15) — draft dates from press coverage, not re-verified on miit.gov.cn. Earlier-reported figures on the number of planned standards (~70) and phase timelines could not be confirmed against an official text and have been removed. Official final text on miit.gov.cn was not retrieved.
Practice Guide: Coding Rules for Service Providers in AI-Generated Synthetic Content Labeling 《网络安全标准实践指南——人工智能生成合成内容标识 服务提供者编码规则》
TC260 Secretariat · 2025-03-14in force
Cybersecurity standard practice guide issued alongside the Labeling Measures and GB 45438-2025, defining the code structure and assignment rules for the service-provider identifiers that must be embedded in implicit (metadata) labels of AI-generated content. Practice guides are voluntary TC260 secretariat documents, but this one supplies operational detail needed to comply with the mandatory labeling standard.
—Defines provider/platform code structure used in metadata implicit labels under GB 45438-2025
—Covers both content generation-synthesis providers and content dissemination providers
—Voluntary guide, but practically necessary for labeling compliance
URL verified: resolves to a PDF on tc260.org.cn with internal creation date 2025-03-14 (image-based PDF; text not machine-extractable in audit). Date is the release date, same day as the Labeling Measures announcement; a draft for comment circulated earlier. Voluntary practice guide supporting a mandatory standard.
Guidelines for the Construction of a Comprehensive National AI Industry Standardization System (2024 Edition) 《国家人工智能产业综合标准化体系建设指南（2024版）》
Top-level policy roadmap for AI standardization, structuring the standards system into seven modules: foundational commonalities, foundational support, key technologies, intelligent products and services, empowering new industrialization, industry applications, and safety/governance. Sets 2026 targets including 50+ new national and industry standards and participation in international standards work. A planning document — not itself binding, but it drives which GB/GB/T standards get drafted.
—Seven-module AI standards architecture including a safety/governance module
—2026 targets include 50+ new domestic standards and international standards participation
—Basis for subsequent MIIT-side AI standards drafting plans
URL verified live; gov.cn page confirms the four issuing departments, document number 工信部联科〔2024〕113号, and 成文日期 2024-06-05 (published on gov.cn in early July 2024). Date is the document date. Policy guidance, not a binding instrument.
Basic Security Requirements for Generative Artificial Intelligence Services (TC260-003) 生成式人工智能服务安全基本要求（TC260-003）
TC260 · 2024-03-01superseded
TC260 technical document (not a formal GB standard) specifying corpus/training-data security, model security, and security measures for generative AI services, plus the security self-assessment methodology. Although nominally voluntary, it was the de facto checklist applied in the generative AI service filing (备案) security assessment, making it quasi-mandatory in practice. It was elevated, with revisions, into national standard GB/T 45654-2025.
—Corpus source vetting thresholds, keyword libraries, and generated-content test question banks
—Requirements on training data legality, annotation, and refusal of unsafe prompts
—Used by regulators as the assessment yardstick for generative AI (large model) filing before the GB/T issued
—Formally voluntary; de facto condition of market entry via the filing regime
URL verified live: TC260 release notice dated 2024-03-01 with downloadable full text. Draft circulated for comment 2023-10-11. Superseded in substance by GB/T 45654-2025 as of 2025-11-01.
GB/T 42888-2023 Information Security Technology — Assessment Specification for Security of Machine Learning Algorithms GB/T 42888—2023《信息安全技术 机器学习算法安全评估规范》
SAMR/SAC (drafted under TC260) · 2024-03-01in force
Earlier-generation recommended national standard specifying security requirements, assessment methods, and assessment process for machine learning algorithms and services across their lifecycle. It predates the generative-AI wave and remains the general-purpose ML security assessment reference standard. Voluntary (GB/T).
—Lifecycle security requirements and assessment process for ML algorithms
—Voluntary reference for algorithm providers and third-party assessors
Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission Office (Central CAC) · 2026-07-20news
A four-month, two-phase campaign on minors' online protection (phase 1 on the summer online environment, phase 2 on platform behavior) with unusually prominent AI-specific targets: AI parodies of classic animated characters that amplify violent and frightening elements, batch-produced sensationalist AI short dramas that mislead minors, AI apps that create inappropriate personas and output suggestive or vulgar content, and merchants offering AI face-swapping tools that teach minors to defeat facial-recognition checks. Read together with the anthropomorphic AI measures effective five days earlier, it shows minors-facing AI services are the immediate enforcement priority.
—Targets AI software creating 'inappropriate personas' that output suggestive/vulgar content
—Targets merchants offering AI face-swap tools and teaching minors to bypass facial-recognition verification
—Targets batch-produced sensationalist AI short dramas and AI defacement of classic animation amplifying violent/frightening elements
—Runs alongside phase 2 of the AI Application Chaos campaign; overlaps with the new anthropomorphic AI measures' minors provisions
Official CAC deployment notice dated 2026-07-20, verified at this URL — all four AI-specific targets confirmed against the notice text. Campaign is broader than AI; entry included for its explicit AI enforcement targets.
CAC Announcement of Filed Generative AI Services (May-June 2026): 988 services filed, 598 apps registered 关于发布生成式人工智能服务已备案信息的公告（2026年5月至6月）
CAC · 2026-07-10news
Latest bimonthly disclosure of the generative AI filing regime's scale: 120 new services filed nationally and 68 new apps/functions registered locally in May-June 2026, bringing cumulative totals to 988 filed generative AI services and 598 registered AI apps/functions as of 2026-06-30. The announcement reiterates that platforms offering AI apps/functions must display the underlying filed model's name and filing number. Useful as the current headline figure for the tracker.
—988 generative AI services filed (备案) cumulatively as of 2026-06-30
—598 AI applications/functions registered (登记) via provincial CAC offices
—120 new filings and 68 new registrations in May-June 2026 alone
URL verified live; all figures (988 cumulative filings, 598 registrations, 120 and 68 new in May-June 2026, as of 2026-06-30) confirmed against the announcement text. Date is the announcement release date. Earlier milestone of 346 filed as of 2025-03-31 is well attested; an intermediate '~611 by November 2025' figure could not be re-verified and has been removed.
Phase 1 results of the Qinglang AI Application Chaos campaign: 14,000+ AI products handled 中央网信办深入开展"清朗·整治AI应用乱象"专项行动第一阶段工作
Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission Office (Central CAC) · 2026-07-06news
The Central CAC reported first-phase enforcement results of the 2026 AI campaign: over 14,000 violating AI websites, apps and agents disposed of, more than 6 million pieces of illegal content removed, 26,000+ accounts handled, 1,300+ violating AI products delisted and 9 non-compliant open-source datasets taken down. Targeted violations were failure to complete large-model filing, inadequate platform safety and review/filtering capacity, and AI data poisoning, among others. This is the largest disclosed enforcement wave to date under China's AI rules; phase 2 shifts to AI-generated content harms.
Announced 2026-07-06 via the CAC's official WeChat channel (no stable standalone CAC web URL located); URL is a state-media (China News Service) carry of the announcement, verified — all five statistics (1.4万余款, 600余万条, 2.6万余个, 1300余个, 9个) match. Also carried by other state media.
Qinglang Special Campaign to Rectify AI Application Chaos (launch) "清朗·整治AI应用乱象"专项行动
Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission Office (Central CAC) · 2026-04-30news
A four-month, two-phase enforcement campaign against AI applications, successor to the 2025 'AI technology abuse' campaign. Phase 1 targets seven categories of source-level compliance failures — unfulfilled large-model filing/registration obligations, weak platform safety and review/filtering capacity, training-data problems and data poisoning, and missing synthetic-content labels. Phase 2 targets seven categories of AI-generated content harms: false information, low-quality 'digital swill' content, impersonation, harm to minors, and AI-driven troll-farm activity. It is the main vehicle for enforcing the generative AI, deep synthesis and labeling rules in 2026.
—Phase 1 (source governance): seven violation types including failure to complete large-model filing/registration and failure to implement AI-content labeling
—Phase 2 (content governance): seven violation types including AI-generated fake news, low-quality 'digital swill' content, deepfake impersonation, harms to minors, and AI water-army operations
—Explicitly enforces the model-filing regime and the September 2025 labeling rules
—Follows the April–July 2025 'Qinglang: Rectify AI Technology Abuse' campaign
Official CAC deployment notice dated 2026-04-30 17:05, verified at this URL (title: 中央网信办部署开展"清朗·整治AI应用乱象"专项行动). Dedicated public complaint channel ('涉AI应用乱象举报专区', 14 reportable categories via 12377) opened by the CAC reporting center on 2026-06-12, verified at cac.gov.cn/2026-06/12/c_1782660002371256.htm.
Generative AI Service Filing (large model 备案) and Registration (登记) Regime 生成式人工智能服务备案与登记制度（大模型备案）
CAC (national level for 备案; provincial cyberspace administrations for 登记) · 2023-08-15in force
Binding dual-track regime under the Interim Measures for the Management of Generative AI Services (effective 2023-08-15) and the 2018 security-assessment provisions: services with public-opinion attributes or social-mobilization capability that develop or fine-tune models must complete security assessment and filing (备案) with CAC, while apps/functions that call already-filed models via API register (登记) with provincial CAC offices. Filed services receive filing numbers that must be displayed publicly; the security assessment applies GB/T 45654-2025 (formerly TC260-003) as its technical yardstick, which is what makes those nominally voluntary standards de facto binding. In practice the regime functions as a market-entry gate for public-facing generative AI services in China.
—备案 (filing) for self/secondarily-developed models; 登记 (registration) for apps calling filed models via API
—Security assessment against GB/T 45654-2025 is part of the filing review — de facto mandatory standard
—Milestones: 346 services filed by 2025-03-31; 988 by 2026-06-30 (CAC disclosures)
—Platforms must display model name and filing/registration numbers prominently
Date is the effective date of the Interim Measures that anchor the regime; the Measures themselves are covered in the regulations slice of this tracker. Source URL verified live: CAC's April 2024 announcement establishing the public disclosure practice, updated with attachments through June 2026 and confirming the display requirement for filing/registration numbers.
Internet Information Service Algorithm Filing Regime (including deep synthesis algorithm filing) 互联网信息服务算法备案（含深度合成服务算法备案）
CAC (with MIIT, MPS, SAMR under the underlying provisions) · 2022-03-01in force
Binding filing regime: providers of algorithmic recommendation services with public-opinion attributes or social-mobilization capability must file their algorithms with CAC via beian.cac.gov.cn (Provisions on Recommendation Algorithms, effective 2022-03-01, art. 24); deep synthesis service providers and technical supporters must likewise file (Deep Synthesis Provisions, effective 2023-01-10, art. 19). CAC publishes filed-algorithm lists in periodic batches — the first general list on 2022-08-12, with the general filing list updated roughly bimonthly through July 2026 and the 17th deep-synthesis batch published 2026-05-06. Filing is a binding precondition for operating covered services, though CAC stresses filing is not an endorsement of legality or safety.
—Mandatory filing for recommendation and deep synthesis algorithms with public-opinion attributes/social-mobilization capability
—Filing system: beian.cac.gov.cn; CAC publishes periodic public batches
—17th deep-synthesis batch published 2026-05-06; general algorithm filing list updated through July 2026
—Filing is a market-entry precondition, distinct from and additional to generative AI service filing
Date is the effective date of the Recommendation Algorithm Provisions that created the regime. Source URL verified live: CAC's 2022-08-12 announcement now carries 19 attachments of the general filing list through July 2026. 17th deep-synthesis batch verified at https://www.cac.gov.cn/2026-05/06/c_1779809434590762.htm. An 18th deep-synthesis batch in July 2026 was reported but could not be confirmed in this audit and is omitted. Cumulative deep-synthesis filing totals circulate only via secondary analysts; CAC publishes per-batch lists, queryable at beian.cac.gov.cn.
Statutes, drafts & policy26
Agreement establishing the World AI Cooperation Organization signed in Shanghai 《成立世界人工智能合作组织协定》在上海签署
Representatives of 29 founding member states — including Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Laos — signed the agreement establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, an intergovernmental body headquartered in Shanghai. Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed for China; UN Secretary-General Guterres attended. The organization commits to promoting international AI cooperation and global governance under UN Charter principles so that AI develops in a human-centered direction beneficial to all. It institutionalizes China's alternative pole in global AI governance, one year after the idea was floated at WAIC 2025.
—29 founding member states; headquarters in Shanghai
—Framed around UN Charter purposes and human-centered, universally beneficial AI development
—Follows the July 2025 Global AI Governance Action Plan and Li Qiang's WAIC proposal
MFA readout dated 2026-07-16, verified at this URL (29 founding states, named countries, Wang Yi signing, Guterres attendance and Shanghai headquarters all confirmed). Not a domestic regulatory instrument but a major governance-direction signal.
Artificial Intelligence Law (comprehensive national AI law) — status: no official draft ever published 人工智能法（综合性立法项目）
State Council / NPC Standing Committee (legislative project) · 2026-05-11announced
China's much-discussed comprehensive AI Law remains a legislative project with no draft text ever released by the NPC or the State Council as of July 2026. It appeared as a draft 'to be prepared for submission to the NPCSC' in the State Council's 2023 and 2024 legislative work plans and was downgraded to generic 'advance AI healthy-development legislation' language in 2025. On May 11, 2026 the State Council's plan escalated to 'accelerate comprehensive legislation for the healthy development of AI', while the NPCSC's same-day plan still lists AI only among items for research and drafting — no draft is scheduled for deliberation.
—No official draft text exists; anything circulating as a 'draft AI Law' is a scholar proposal, not a government bill
—2023 and 2024 State Council plans listed 人工智能法草案 as 预备提请全国人大常委会审议 (preparatory submission item); the named item was dropped in 2025
—NPCSC 2026 plan (May 11, 2026) directs only research into 'healthy development of AI' legislative projects — no first reading scheduled; the 'accelerate comprehensive legislation' language is the State Council plan's, not the NPCSC's
—NPC delegate proposals urging enactment (e.g., Quan Heng and others, Legal Daily, June 17, 2025; also carried on npc.gov.cn) are 议案, not drafts
Synthesis entry; date is the release of the 2026 legislative work plans (latest status signal). No primary URL possible because no draft exists. All component facts verified against: stcn.com (2023 plan), oeeee.com (2024 plan), mee.gov.cn republication (2025 plan), gov.cn full text (2026 plan, 国办发〔2026〕14号), and NPC Observer (2026 NPCSC plan). Legal Daily delegate-proposal report verified (epaper.legaldaily.com.cn, 2025-06-17).
State Council 2026 Annual Legislative Work Plan ('accelerate comprehensive AI legislation') 国务院2026年度立法工作计划（国办发〔2026〕14号）
State Council General Office · 2026-05-11announced
The 2026 plan calls to 'improve AI governance and accelerate comprehensive legislation for the healthy development of AI', and to accelerate legislation safeguarding AI's common elements — data, computing power, algorithms, property rights, cybersecurity, and supply-chain security — as well as regulating key application scenarios. The shift from 2025's 'advance' to 2026's 'accelerate comprehensive legislation' is read by observers as the strongest signal since 2024 that a unified instrument is moving again, though still with no draft scheduled or published.
—Verbatim: 完善人工智能治理，加快推进人工智能健康发展综合性立法
—Common-elements language verified in the full text: 保障数据、算力、算法、产权、网络安全、供应链安全等人工智能共性要素及规范重点应用场景方面的立法
—Released the same day as the NPCSC 2026 plan; neither schedules an AI Law draft for a first reading
URL replaced with the gov.cn full text (verified; document 国办发〔2026〕14号, internally dated May 8, 2026, published May 11, 2026). Xinhua's same-day authorized report (news.cn) carries only the general 'comprehensive legislation' line; the common-elements passage is in the full plan text.
NPC Standing Committee 2026 Legislative Work Plan (AI remains a preparatory/research item) 全国人大常委会2026年度立法工作计划
NPC Standing Committee · 2026-05-11announced
The NPCSC's 2026 work plan, released May 11, 2026, again includes legislative projects on 'the healthy development of artificial intelligence' among items for research and drafting by relevant bodies rather than among titled projects scheduled for deliberation. No AI Law draft is scheduled for initial deliberation — the third consecutive year in which AI legislation is flagged without a bill.
—AI healthy-development projects appear in the plan's research-directive paragraph, alongside items such as the fiscal and taxation system, agricultural support and promotion, and governance of online violence
—Read together with the State Council's same-day plan, the two documents point to a comprehensive statute plus element-specific legislation, but schedule neither
NPC Observer (reputable secondary tracker, English) used as source — URL verified live and confirms the AI item sits among research/preparatory items, not titled projects. The plan text is on npc.gov.cn.
NPC Standing Committee 2026 Legislative Work Plan lists 'healthy AI development' legislation as a preparatory item 全国人大常委会2026年度立法工作计划
NPC Standing Committee · 2026-05announced
The NPC Standing Committee's 2026 legislative work plan lists legislative projects on 'governance of online violence and the healthy development of artificial intelligence' among its preparatory review items (预备审议项目), directing relevant bodies to advance research and drafting. This confirms a comprehensive AI Law remains on the agenda but is still in the research-and-drafting stage with no first reading scheduled for 2026 — near-term rulemaking continues via targeted instruments like the anthropomorphic AI measures.
—AI legislation listed under preparatory review items — research and drafting, no first reading scheduled for 2026
—AI is paired with online-violence governance in a single preparatory line item
—Confirms the drafting locus for a future AI Law remains active but unhurried, with 'small, fast, flexible' targeted rules filling the gap
Plan adopted 2025-12-24 and revised 2026-04-20, published May 2026 (repost page dated 2026-05-12); date given is publication month. URL is the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress official repost of the national plan, verified — AI appears only within a preparatory review item, not a scheduled first reading. Reports that the State Council's parallel 2026 legislative plan calls for accelerating comprehensive AI legislation could not be independently verified in this audit.
Guangdong 2026 Legislative Plan: proposed AI Development Promotion Regulations 广东省人工智能发展促进条例（2026年度立法计划项目）
Guangdong Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee · 2026-04-30announced
Guangdong's 2026 legislative plan, reported 30 April 2026 by Yangcheng Evening News, includes drafting a provincial AI Development Promotion Regulation as the centerpiece of its modern-industrial-system legislation — which would be among the first comprehensive AI promotion statutes by an ordinary (non-municipality) province. The same reporting describes companion projects on data, the low-altitude economy, intelligent connected vehicles and talent, plus municipal items: Guangzhou plans its own AI development promotion regulation and Shenzhen plans brain-computer interface industry legislation.
—Provincial AI Development Promotion Regulation listed for drafting in the 2026 plan
Not yet law — legislative-plan reporting only; no draft text confirmed. Source is a Baijiahao republication of a Yangcheng Evening News report (secondary source, content verified in audit); verify against gdpc.gov.cn before citing. The previously included Jiangsu companion claim was removed as unverifiable (headline-level reporting only).
Supreme People's Court drafting an Opinion on adjudicating AI-related disputes 最高人民法院《关于依法妥善审理涉人工智能纠纷案件的意见》（起草中）
Supreme People's Court · 2026-04news
In April 2026 the SPC stated it is working intensively on drafting an Opinion on the proper adjudication of AI-related disputes, aiming to steer AI development in beneficial, safe and fair directions. Follow-up reports in May 2026 add that it is developing normative documents on judicial protection in AI cases and data property rights. No judicial interpretation or opinion dedicated to AI disputes has been issued as of July 2026; lower-court judgments and SPC-curated typical cases remain the operative guidance.
—Forthcoming SPC guidance announced but not yet issued — distinguish from a promulgated judicial interpretation (司法解释)
—SPC 2025 statistics: courts handled civil cases involving AIGC and AI model parameters; 908 data ownership/transaction disputes, up 25.6% year-on-year; data disputes centralized in IP divisions
—Background: SPC's December 2022 Opinion on regulating judicial application of AI governs courts' own use of AI, not AI disputes
Date is the April 2026 SPC statement reported by 21st Century Business Herald (Apr 20, 2026 — URL verified live, including the drafting statement and case statistics). The May 2026 follow-up on data-property-rights normative documents rests on secondary reports not independently re-verified. No primary text exists yet.
Cybersecurity Law of the PRC (2025 Amendment) — new dedicated AI article 中华人民共和国网络安全法（2025年修正）
NPC Standing Committee · 2026-01-01in force
The first major revision of the 2016 Cybersecurity Law, adopted 2025-10-28 and effective 2026-01-01, inserts a dedicated article on artificial intelligence — the first time AI appears in a national statute of this rank. The provision is principled rather than operational, but it gives the CAC-led AI regulatory apparatus an explicit statutory anchor and signals the legislature's chosen frame of coordinated development and security. The amendment also substantially raises penalty ceilings across the law.
—New AI article (Art. 20 as amended): the state supports AI basic research and R&D of algorithms and other key technologies, and promotes training-data and computing-power infrastructure construction
—Mandates improving AI ethical norms and strengthening risk monitoring, assessment, and security oversight, while promoting application and healthy development
—Also encourages using AI and other new technologies to innovate cybersecurity management itself
—Not an AI-specific instrument — included because it is the highest-ranking binding national provision expressly on AI governance; legal commentary reports fines up to RMB 10 million for serious critical-information-infrastructure violations under the revised liability chapter
URL is CAC's republication of the full amended statute text, verified directly (amendment clause: 根据2025年10月28日…《关于修改〈中华人民共和国网络安全法〉的决定》修正; Art. 20 AI provision confirmed verbatim). NPC decision of adoption at npc.gov.cn/npc/c2/c30834/202510/t20251028_449048.html; CAC expert interpretation of the AI provisions at cac.gov.cn/2026-01/02/c_1769093523928606.htm. Date given is the amendment's effective date (2026-01-01); adoption 2025-10-28.
Cybersecurity Law (as amended 2025) — new Article 20 on artificial intelligence 中华人民共和国网络安全法（2025年修正）
NPC Standing Committee · 2026-01-01in force
On October 28, 2025 the 14th NPCSC (18th session) adopted the Decision to Amend the Cybersecurity Law — the first revision since the law took effect June 1, 2017 — effective January 1, 2026. The amendment writes AI directly into a basic statute for the first time: a new Article 20 commits the state to supporting AI basic research and key technology R&D such as algorithms, building training-data and computing-power infrastructure, improving AI ethics norms, and strengthening risk monitoring, assessment and security regulation to promote healthy AI development.
—New Art. 20: state support for AI innovation plus AI ethics norms and risk-monitoring/security-governance mandate — first AI-dedicated article in a national statute
—Also encourages using AI and other new technologies to improve cybersecurity management itself
—Fourteen numbered amendment items; substantially increased penalties (fines up to RMB 10 million in severe cases) and refined liability
—Effective date January 1, 2026; adopted October 28, 2025
Effective date used. URL is the Xinhua authorized release (受权发布) of the amendment decision — verified live, including the 14 items and new Art. 20 text. Consolidated amended text verified at CAC: cac.gov.cn/2025-12/29/c_1768735112911946.htm (published 2025-12-29).
Cybersecurity Law of the PRC (2025 Amendment) — adds dedicated AI article 中华人民共和国网络安全法（2025年修正）
NPC Standing Committee · 2026-01-01in force
The first amendment to the 2017 Cybersecurity Law, adopted 28 October 2025 and effective 1 January 2026. It inserts a new Article 20 on artificial intelligence — widely described as the first dedicated AI-governance provision in a Chinese national statute — committing the state to support AI basic research and key-technology development, promote infrastructure such as training data and computing power, improve AI ethics norms, strengthen AI risk monitoring and security supervision, and encourage AI for cybersecurity protection. It also modernizes the penalty chapter and aligns the law with PIPL/DSL enforcement practice, providing a statutory hook for future AI legislation.
—New Article 20: state support for AI basic research, key technologies, and infrastructure including training data and computing power
—Mandates improving AI ethical norms and strengthening risk monitoring/assessment and security supervision
—Widely read as the statutory bridge toward a future comprehensive AI law
—Penalty provisions modernized and aligned with PIPL/DSL enforcement practice
Date given is the effective date; adopted by the NPC Standing Committee 2025-10-28. Linked URL (verified, dated 2026-01-02) is a CAC-published expert interpretation of the AI provisions by Prof. Ding Xiaodong (Renmin University), not the statutory text; the amended text is on npc.gov.cn / the national law database and reposted by government portals.
Opinions of the State Council on Deepening the Implementation of the 'AI Plus' Action 国务院关于深入实施"人工智能+"行动的意见（国发〔2025〕11号）
State Council · 2025-08-26announced
The successor strategy to the 2017 Plan, published August 26, 2025 (internally dated August 21, 2025), operationalizing the 'AI+' action first announced in the March 2024 Government Work Report. It directs deep AI integration across six priority areas — science and technology, industrial development, consumption upgrading, people's livelihood, governance, and global cooperation — with staged targets: new-generation intelligent terminals and AI agents exceeding 70% penetration by 2027 and 90% by 2030, and China fully entering the intelligent-economy and intelligent-society stage by 2035.
—Six 'AI+' key actions; diffusion-oriented rather than purely R&D-oriented strategy
—Targets: >70% penetration of intelligent terminals/agents by 2027; >90% by 2030; intelligent economy as a major growth driver
—Policy document (意见), not legislation; frames the development side that any future AI Law must balance against security
—Origin: 2024 Government Work Report's '开展人工智能+行动'
Date is the gov.cn publication date. Official gov.cn full text — verified live; document number 国发〔2025〕11号 and 2027/2030/2035 targets confirmed.
Opinions of the State Council on Deepening the Implementation of the 'AI Plus' Initiative 国务院关于深入实施"人工智能+"行动的意见
State Council · 2025-08-26announced
The central policy document for AI diffusion across the economy, dated 21 August 2025 and released publicly on 26 August 2025. It deploys six 'AI+' priority actions (science and technology, industrial development, consumption, people's livelihood, governance capacity, global cooperation) and eight foundational support pillars, including model capability, data supply, coordinated computing power, an open-source ecosystem, talent, and — notably for regulators — policy and legal safeguards and security capability building, with staged goals for 2027, 2030 and 2035. It frames the pro-diffusion posture within which the 2025–2026 safety rules operate.
—Six 'AI+' actions spanning S&T, industry, consumption, livelihood, governance and global cooperation, with staged goals for 2027, 2030 and 2035 (incl. 70%+ then 90%+ smart-terminal/agent adoption targets)
—Eight support pillars include model capability, data, computing power, application environment, open source, talent, policy-legal frameworks, and security capabilities
—Calls for strengthening policy and legal guarantees — cited by commentators as groundwork for comprehensive AI legislation
—Signals that promotion and diffusion, not restriction, is the organizing frame of Chinese AI policy
Document dated 2025-08-21; publicly released 2025-08-26; the linked CAC repost of the full text (verified — six actions, eight pillars, 2027/2030/2035 goals all confirmed) is dated 2025-08-27. Canonical text is on gov.cn. Policy document, not a binding regulation.
Action Plan for Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence (WAIC 2025) 人工智能全球治理行动计划
Government of China (released at the World AI Conference / High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, Shanghai) · 2025-07-26announced
China's international AI governance blueprint, released 26 July 2025 at the World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai. The 13-point plan calls for global cooperation so that AI development is 'safe, reliable, controllable, and equitable', covering innovation, industry application, infrastructure for the Global South, open source, data, sustainability, standards, safety governance and UN-anchored multilateralism. At the same event Premier Li Qiang proposed a Shanghai-headquartered World AI Cooperation Organization — realized a year later.
—13-point action plan covering AI capacity building, open-source cooperation, safety governance and standards dialogue
—Premier Li Qiang proposed a Shanghai-headquartered World AI Cooperation Organization at the same conference
—Positions safety-and-development balance ('safe, reliable, controllable') as an export of China's domestic governance model
Full official text on the MFA website, dated 2025-07-26 (verified — 13 points confirmed). Falls at the outer edge of the 12-month window; included as the direct antecedent of the July 2026 World AI Cooperation Organization.
State Council 2025 Annual Legislative Work Plan (AI Law demoted to general 'advance legislation' language) 国务院2025年度立法工作计划
State Council General Office · 2025-05-14announced
The 2025 plan dropped the 'draft AI Law' as a preparatory submission item and instead used the softer formulation 'advance legislative work on the healthy development of AI' (推进人工智能健康发展立法工作), with no standalone AI bill or designated lead agency. Analysts widely read this as a deliberate slowing and broadening of the comprehensive-law project in favor of incremental, sector-specific rules.
—人工智能法草案 no longer listed for submission to the NPCSC after two consecutive years
—Language changed to 推进人工智能健康发展立法工作, under the sci-tech/education section
—NPCSC 2025 plan (also released May 14, 2025) kept AI healthy-development items in its preparatory-review (预备审议) category, continuing 2024 phrasing
URL is the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's official republication of the State Council General Office notice (verified live; gov.cn original also exists). The plan is internally dated May 4, 2025; the MEE page was posted May 16, 2025. Date used is the widely reported May 14, 2025 release of the 2025 legislative plans.
Comparative note: two clusters of local AI-adjacent lawmaking (tracker section introduction) 地方人工智能相关立法动态（综述条目）
Researcher synthesis (multiple municipal legislatures) · 2025-03-13news
Comparative context entry: China's AI-adjacent local lawmaking has clustered in two streams — comprehensive AI industry promotion statutes (Shanghai and Shenzhen 2022; Hangzhou's embodied-robot law 2026) and vehicle-automation laws (Shenzhen 2022, Shanghai-Pudong 2023, Beijing and Guangzhou 2025). Nearly all are enabling/promotional; binding AI-conduct rules remain national (CAC recommendation-algorithm, deep-synthesis and generative-AI measures), with localities competing on incentives, scenarios and FTZ data liberalization instead.
—Local AI lawmaking is promotion-dominant; restrictive AI rules stay at national level
—Two clusters: AI-industry statutes and ICV/AV statutes, plus FTZ data liberalization
—2025 wave of embodied-AI policies confirmed by Xinhua (2025-03-13), citing Beijing, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu
—Framing entry for the tracker's provincial section — not a legal instrument
Analytical synthesis by the researcher from the primary entries above, retained because every constituent claim was verified in this audit. Date set to that of the cited Xinhua article (2025-03-13), which was fetched and confirmed to support the multi-region embodied-AI wave claim. The unverified Guangdong/Jiangsu 'provincial legislative plans' pairing was narrowed to what the sources support.
State Council 2024 Annual Legislative Work Plan (second listing of a draft AI Law) 国务院2024年度立法工作计划
State Council General Office · 2024-05-09announced
The 2024 plan, issued May 9, 2024, again listed the draft AI Law as a preparatory item for submission to the NPC Standing Committee — the second consecutive year. As in 2023, no draft was submitted or published during the year.
—人工智能法草案 listed for the second consecutive year as a preparatory submission item
—The parallel NPCSC 2024 work plan placed 'healthy development of AI' legislative items in its preparatory-review (预备审议) category
Secondary source (Southern Metropolis Daily / oeeee.com report of May 10, 2024 — URL verified live; it confirms the second-consecutive-year listing and the May 9, 2024 issuance). Date is the plan's issuance date.
Beijing Internet Court AI voice-cloning case — first personality-rights protection for AI-generated voice 殷某某诉某智能科技公司等人格权纠纷案（全国首例"AI声音侵权案"）
Beijing Internet Court · 2024-04-23news
First-instance judgment announced April 23, 2024 in a suit by dubbing artist Yin, whose studio recordings had been used without authorization to build a commercial text-to-speech product. The court held that a natural person's voice rights under the Civil Code extend to an AI-generated voice where it remains identifiable to ordinary listeners, that authorization to the sound-recording copyright holder did not authorize AI voice cloning, and ordered two of the defendants to pay RMB 250,000 and apologize; other defendants were held not liable absent subjective fault.
—Civil Code voice-rights protection extends to identifiable AI-cloned voices
—Licensing a recording does not imply consent to AI voice synthesis
—Identifiability judged by whether ordinary listeners in the relevant field can recognize the voice; platform/intermediary defendants without fault escaped liability
—Reported as later selected into the SPC's People's Court Case Database (人民法院案例库)
Date is the first-instance judgment announcement per press reports. URL is Beijing's official political-legal portal bj148.org — verified live, confirming the facts, the identifiability test, and the RMB 250,000 award. The specific case-database reference number circulating in secondary reports could not be independently verified and was removed.
Model Artificial Intelligence Law (Expert Draft) — CASS, versions 1.0/1.1/2.0 — NON-OFFICIAL 人工智能示范法（专家建议稿）
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Law (drafting group led by Zhou Hui) — scholar proposal, not a government body · 2024-04-16draft
A scholar-drafted model law from a CASS Institute of Law research group: version 1.0 released August 15, 2023 (China's first full model AI law text), a reported interim version 1.1 in late 2023, and version 2.0 on April 16, 2024. Version 2.0 proposes a national AI office, negative-list-based risk management (permits for negative-list activities, filing otherwise), developer/provider obligations, and notably open-source development incentives and AI-specific IP rules. It has no legal status but has visibly shaped the official legislative debate.
—Strictly non-official: an academic proposal (专家建议稿), frequently mistaken abroad for a government draft
—v1.0 released August 2023; v2.0 released April 16, 2024; an interim v1.1 with penalty and registration-exemption adjustments was reported in September 2023
—v2.0 highlights: open-source incentives and liability-exemption rules, IP provisions for training data and AI outputs, negative-list risk regulation, proposed National AI Office with provincial implementation
Date is v2.0 release. Source is 21st Century Business Herald coverage (verified live; confirms v1.0 Aug 2023, v2.0 Apr 16 2024, Zhou Hui as lead, and the v2.0 highlights). Full v2.0 PDF mirrored by Tongji University's Shanghai AI Social Governance Center (aisg.tongji.edu.cn/info/1005/1211.htm — verified live, posted Apr 22, 2024). The v1.1 September 2023 date is from secondary reports and was not independently re-verified. No official government URL exists because this is not a government document.
Artificial Intelligence Law of the PRC (Scholars' Proposal Draft) — NON-OFFICIAL 中华人民共和国人工智能法（学者建议稿）
Seven-institution scholar group led by Zhang Linghan (China University of Political Science and Law) — scholar proposal, not a government body · 2024-03-16draft
Released March 16, 2024 at an AI governance forum in Beijing by scholars from seven institutions (per release reports: CUPL Data Law Institute, Northwest University of Political Science and Law, CAICT, Beihang Law School, ECUPL, SWUPL, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law). The draft runs 96 articles covering general principles, development and promotion, rights protection for users and developers, safety obligations, supervision, special application scenarios, international cooperation, and legal liability. Like the CASS model law, it is an academic proposal with no legal status.
—Strictly non-official academic proposal (学者建议稿)
—96 articles; distinctive emphasis on users' and developers' rights protection, and permissive rules for using copyrighted material in model training
—Lead drafter Zhang Linghan also served on the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI
Date is the release/forum date. Original source URL (fxcxw.org.cn) is dead (connection refused) and was replaced with CSET's verified English translation page (unofficial translation, Georgetown). The release announcement is also carried by Beihang Law School (fxy.buaa.edu.cn/info/1143/8452.htm, posted Mar 20, 2024, content as images). Chapter count omitted: reports differ on the internal structure, but the 96-article count is corroborated. No official URL exists because this is not a government document.
Guangzhou Internet Court 'Ultraman' case — first effective judgment holding a generative AI service liable for copyright infringement 广州互联网法院"奥特曼"生成式AI著作权侵权案
Guangzhou Internet Court · 2024-02news
In February 2024 the Guangzhou Internet Court's judgment took effect in a suit by the exclusive Chinese licensee of the Ultraman works against an AI platform whose text-to-image service generated images substantially similar to Ultraman, holding the provider infringed the reproduction and adaptation rights and awarding RMB 10,000 including costs. Widely reported as the first effective judgment worldwide finding a generative AI service liable for infringing outputs, it imposed duties of care (complaint channels, risk warnings, keyword filtering, AIGC labeling) on AIGC providers.
—Liability on the output side for the AI service provider, not the user
—Court expressly referenced the Interim Measures for Generative AI Services in framing provider duties of care
—Modest damages (RMB 10,000 of RMB 300,000 claimed); court noted the industry's early stage and declined to impose excessive obligations
Judgment became effective February 2024 (reported as effective by 21jingji on Feb 26, 2024 — URL verified live, confirming damages, duties of care, and the Interim Measures reference); exact judgment date not stated in verified sources, so month-level date used. Secondary source (21st Century Business Herald).
Beijing Internet Court, Li v. Liu — first Chinese judgment recognizing copyright in an AI-generated image 李某某诉刘某某侵害作品署名权、信息网络传播权纠纷案（"AI文生图"著作权第一案，(2023)京0491民初11279号）
Beijing Internet Court · 2023-11-27news
Judgment of November 27, 2023 holding that an image the plaintiff generated with Stable Diffusion reflected sufficient human intellectual investment and originality (prompt design, parameter setting, iterative selection) to qualify as a copyrightable work owned by the human user, and that the defendant's unauthorized republication infringed attribution and network-dissemination rights (RMB 500 damages plus apology). Neither party appealed, so the first-instance judgment is final — the leading Chinese authority on AIGC copyrightability, in contrast to the US Copyright Office position.
—Human-authorship-through-prompting theory: user, not the AI or tool developer, held the copyright on these facts
—First-instance judgment effective without appeal; the court framed copyrightability of AI-generated content as a case-by-case question, not a blanket rule
—Reported as cited in the SPC's March 2024 work report to the NPC as a landmark of the year (per press coverage)
Status 'news' used because the schema has no case category; this is a final court judgment. Date is the judgment date. URL is the Beijing Internet Court's own site — the page renders via JavaScript so its text cannot be fetched directly, but search-index snippets of this exact URL confirm it carries the case (RMB 500 damages, no appeal, judgment effective); case number per court and press reports. Chinacourt.org coverage also exists (chinacourt.cn/article/detail/2024/02/id/7796864.shtml).
14th NPC Standing Committee Five-Year Legislative Plan (AI mentioned, no standalone AI Law item) 十四届全国人大常委会立法规划
NPC Standing Committee · 2023-09-07announced
The five-year legislative plan for the 14th NPCSC (2023–2028), released September 7, 2023, does not list a standalone Artificial Intelligence Law among its Class I or Class II projects. It instead contains general deployment language on 'promoting scientific and technological innovation and the healthy development of artificial intelligence' (推进科技创新和人工智能健康发展), leaving the door open for an AI law to be added later.
—No named AI Law among the 79 Class I (mature, to be deliberated this term) projects
—General commitment to advance sci-tech innovation and AI healthy-development legislation
—Contrasts with the State Council's June 2023 plan, which did name a draft AI Law — experts quoted at the time read this as reflecting different stages of the legislative process
Secondary source (21st Century Business Herald analysis, Sept 9, 2023 — URL verified live; confirms release date, absence of a named AI Law item, and the 推进科技创新和人工智能健康发展 phrase); plan text is on npc.gov.cn. Date is the plan's release date.
State Council 2023 Annual Legislative Work Plan (first listing of a draft AI Law) 国务院2023年度立法工作计划
State Council General Office · 2023-06announced
The State Council's 2023 legislative work plan for the first time listed a draft Artificial Intelligence Law (人工智能法草案) among items to be prepared for submission to the NPC Standing Committee for deliberation. This was the strongest official signal to date that a comprehensive AI statute was being drafted internally, though no text was ever released.
—AI Law draft listed as 预备提请全国人大常委会审议 (preparatory submission item)
—Listed alongside the Teachers Law revision draft and Broadcasting Law draft: 预备提请全国人大常委会审议教师法修订草案、广播电视法草案、人工智能法草案
—No draft text was published for comment at any point
Secondary source (Securities Times, stcn.com, article dated June 8, 2023 — URL verified live and quotes the plan's AI Law listing verbatim); the plan itself was published on gov.cn in June 2023. Date is release month of the plan.
Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) — AI-relevant provisions 中华人民共和国个人信息保护法
NPC Standing Committee · 2021-11-01in force
China's comprehensive personal-data statute, adopted August 20, 2021 and effective November 1, 2021. It is the principal statutory basis for regulating AI systems that process personal information: Article 24 imposes transparency and fairness duties on automated decision-making, bans unreasonable differential treatment (e.g., algorithmic price discrimination), and grants opt-out and explanation rights; Article 55 requires impact assessments for automated decision-making; Article 62 directs the CAC to develop specific rules for new technologies including AI applications.
—Art. 24: automated decision-making must be transparent, fair and just; individuals may refuse decisions made solely by automated means that significantly affect them
—Art. 55: personal information protection impact assessment required for automated decision-making
—Art. 26 (facial recognition in public venues) and Art. 62 (CAC rulemaking for new AI-adjacent technologies) also bear on AI
—Extraterritorial reach (Art. 3) covers offshore AI services targeting individuals in China
Effective date used (adopted 2021-08-20 by the 30th session of the 13th NPCSC). URL is the CAC's official full-text republication — verified live, full text with Art. 24 automated-decision-making provisions confirmed; npc.gov.cn also carries the text.
Data Security Law (DSL) — AI-relevant provisions 中华人民共和国数据安全法
NPC Standing Committee · 2021-09-01in force
Adopted June 10, 2021 and effective September 1, 2021, the DSL establishes the classified-and-graded data protection regime (important data, national core data) that governs the datasets on which AI models are trained and operated. Its security-obligation, risk-assessment, and cross-border provisions apply to AI developers as data processors, and it is consistently cited (with the CSL and PIPL) as one of the three statutory pillars beneath China's AI-specific rules.
—Art. 21: classified and graded data protection; national core data regime constrains AI training data sourcing
—Arts. 27–30: security obligations, risk monitoring, and periodic risk assessments for processors of important data
—DSL also promotes data development and use (Chapter II), the statutory hook for data-resource policies supporting AI
Effective date used (adopted 2021-06-10 by the 29th session of the 13th NPCSC). URL is the CAC's official full-text republication — verified live, complete 55-article text with Art. 21 classification regime confirmed.
New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan 新一代人工智能发展规划（国发〔2017〕35号）
State Council · 2017-07-20announced
China's foundational AI strategy document, issued as State Council Document No. 35 of 2017 (dated July 8, published July 20, 2017). It set the three-step goal of reaching globally advanced AI levels by 2020, major breakthroughs by 2025, and world-leading AI innovation-center status by 2030, and — importantly for lawyers — scheduled the 'initial establishment of AI laws, regulations, ethical norms and policy systems' (初步建立人工智能法律法规、伦理规范和政策体系) by 2025, the root of the current legislative agenda.
—Three-step strategy: 2020 parity, 2025 breakthroughs, 2030 world-leading AI innovation center
—2025 milestone includes initially establishing AI laws, regulations and ethics norms; 2030 includes a more complete system
—Policy planning document (规划), not binding legislation
Date is gov.cn publication date (document internally dated July 8, 2017). Official gov.cn full text — verified live, including the three-step goals and the 2025 legal-system milestone. English translation available at China Law Translate (unofficial).
Binding measures13
Interim Measures for the Administration of AI Anthropomorphic Interaction Services 人工智能拟人化互动服务管理暂行办法
CAC, NDRC, MIIT, Ministry of Public Security, SAMR (CAC Order No. 21) · 2026-07-15in force
The newest link in the CAC regulatory chain (algorithms → deep synthesis → generative AI → anthropomorphic interaction), targeting AI companion, roleplay, and other continuous emotional-interaction services that simulate a natural person's personality traits, thinking patterns, and communication styles. It addresses emotional dependence, manipulation, and harm to minors and the elderly, adding crisis-intervention duties for extreme scenarios such as suicide risk. Adopted 2026-02-02, published 2026-04-10, effective 2026-07-15 — in force as of late July 2026. Ordinary customer-service or education tools without an emotional-interaction component are outside scope.
—Art. 8 prohibits, among others, excessively flattering users to induce emotional dependence or addiction that damages real interpersonal relationships, and emotional manipulation that induces unreasonable decisions
—Art. 13 crisis intervention: where a user clearly indicates self-harm, suicide, or other life-threatening extreme situations, the provider must intervene with assistance measures and promptly contact the user's guardian or emergency contact
—Art. 14 bans offering virtual-kin or virtual-partner style intimate-relationship services to minors; Art. 15 requires guidance for healthy use by elderly users, prominent safety-risk warnings, and timely response to their help requests
—Art. 18 requires effective measures to remind users they are interacting with an AI service and not a natural person
Official CAC text (Order No. 21), verified directly on cac.gov.cn including the promulgation clause and the cited articles (Arts. 8, 13, 14, 15, 18 quoted verbatim). Draft released for public comment 2025-12-27 (cac.gov.cn/2025-12/27/c_1768571207311996.htm, comment deadline 2026-01-25). Date given is the effective date (2026-07-15).
Interim Measures for the Administration of Anthropomorphic AI Interactive Services 人工智能拟人化互动服务管理暂行办法
CAC, NDRC, MIIT, Ministry of Public Security, SAMR · 2026-07-15in force
China's first dedicated rules for 'human-like' AI companion and emotional-interaction services — chatbots that simulate a natural person's personality, thinking patterns and communication style in sustained emotional interaction. Providers must run pre-launch and threshold-triggered security assessments, label AI output, protect minors, curb addictive use, and give users rights to copy or delete chat histories, with limits on sharing interaction data and on training with minors' sensitive data. Widely read as the fourth sector-specific pillar of the CAC's AI rulebook after the algorithm recommendation, deep synthesis and generative AI measures.
—Scope keyed to services providing sustained emotional interaction that simulates natural-person personality traits, thinking patterns and communication style — not general-purpose assistants
—Security assessment required before launch, on major technical changes, at 1M+ registered users or 100K+ monthly active users, or where national-security risks arise
—Minors: no virtual-relative or virtual-companion personas for minors; guardian consent for users under 14; mandatory minor mode with usage-time limits; minors' sensitive data cannot be used for training without separate consent
—Anti-addiction: prominent AI-disclosure warnings when users show dependency, reminders after every 2 hours of continuous use, and unobstructed exit mechanisms
Date given is the effective date; published 2026-04-10 by the five departments (all verified against the official CAC full text at this URL). Draft for comment released 2025-12-27 with comments closing 2026-01-25 (verified at cac.gov.cn/2025-12/27/c_1768571207311996.htm); official Q&A verified at cac.gov.cn/2026-04/10/c_1777558395284407.htm. English title is an unofficial translation (China Law Translate renders it 'Provisional Measures on the Administration of Human-like Interactive Artificial Intelligence Services').
Measures for Ethics Review of and Services for Artificial Intelligence Science and Technology (Trial) 人工智能科技伦理审查与服务办法（试行）
MIIT with NDRC, Ministry of Education, MOST, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, NHC, People's Bank of China, CAC, CAS, CAST (工信部联科〔2026〕75号) · 2026-03-20in force
China's first ethics-review rule dedicated specifically to AI, issued by ten departments under MIIT's lead and effective upon issuance (Art. 37: 自印发之日起施行). It requires organizations conducting ethically sensitive AI activities to establish AI ethics review committees and builds a service infrastructure of professional AI ethics review and service centers. It operates as a lex specialis under the general 2023 Science and Technology Ethics Review Measures, which fill any gaps (Art. 35).
—Universities, research institutions, medical institutions, and enterprises conducting AI activities with ethical risk (to human dignity, public order, life and health, ecology, sustainable development) must establish AI S&T ethics committees with dedicated staff, premises, and funding (Art. 9)
—Six review focus areas (Art. 15): human welfare, fairness and justice, controllability and trustworthiness, transparency and explainability, accountability and traceability, privacy protection
—MIIT and MOST, with relevant departments, issue and dynamically adjust the expert re-review (复核) list; the annexed initial list covers human-machine fusion systems strongly influencing behavior/emotions/health, algorithms and systems with public-opinion/social-mobilization capability, and highly autonomous decision-making systems in safety- or health-risk scenarios (Arts. 21, Annex)
—Localities and competent departments may establish professional AI ethics review and service centers offering review, re-review, training, and consulting (Art. 11); an MIIT General Office pilot program (工信厅科函〔2026〕199号, dated 2026-04-28) runs 2026-06-01 to 2026-11-30 in the ten provinces/municipalities hosting national AI industry innovation application pilot zones (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Shandong, Tianjin, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang)
URL is the State Council (gov.cn) gazette entry carrying the notice and full-text PDF, verified against the PDF directly; also carried by MOFCOM's policy database (policy.mofcom.gov.cn/claw/clawContent.shtml?id=105505) and miit.gov.cn. Issued and effective 2026-03-20, publicized early April 2026. Trial instrument. Earlier claims that the pilot ran under the measures themselves were corrected: the pilot is set by a separate MIIT General Office notice.
Issued as a TC260 (全国网安标委) technical document; drafted by a CNCERT/CC (国家互联网应急中心)-led group with research institutes and enterprises, under CAC guidance · 2025-09-15in force
Upgraded version of the 2024 framework, released at the 2025 National Cybersecurity Awareness Week main forum. It refines the risk taxonomy into three categories (technology-inherent, technology-application, and application-derived risks) and introduces an exploratory five-tier risk grading (low / ordinary / relatively large / major / especially major). Still voluntary, but it is the clearest public statement of Chinese regulators' approach to AI risk classification and is expected to shape future binding standards.
Source URL is the CAC release notice (verified live; confirms 2025-09-15, CNCERT-led drafting under 国家网信办 guidance, issued as a 网安标委 technical document). Official full-text PDF at https://www.tc260.org.cn/upload/2025-09-15/1757911253996041369.pdf (resolves, but very large file >10MB). Date is release date; voluntary framework, not a standard with an effective date.
AI Safety Governance Framework 2.0 《人工智能安全治理框架》2.0版
CNCERT/CC (National Internet Emergency Center, drafting lead) under CAC guidance · 2025-09-15announced
An updated version of the September 2024 AI Safety Governance Framework, released 15 September 2025 at the main forum of the 2025 National Cybersecurity Awareness Week. Version 2.0 tracks risk changes from rapid AI advances, refines the risk classification, introduces exploratory risk grading/tiering, and commits to dynamically adjusting prevention and governance measures, with emphasis on international cooperation. Non-binding, but it is the reference document for how Chinese authorities conceptualize frontier-model and application risks, and feeds national standards work.
—Rapid iteration on the Sept 2024 v1.0, updating for fast-moving AI technology developments
—Refined risk classification plus exploratory risk grading (分级) — a step toward tiered obligations
—Stresses dynamic adjustment of countermeasures and international cooperation on AI governance
—Framed by CNCERT as promoting a 'safe, trustworthy and controllable' AI development ecosystem
Release date and venue verified at this URL (2025-09-15, National Cybersecurity Awareness Week main forum). CAC's report states drafting was coordinated by the National Internet Emergency Center (CNCERT) under CAC guidance, with AI institutions, research organizations and industry enterprises. Non-binding guidance document, not a regulation.
Measures for Labeling of AI-Generated and Synthetic Content 人工智能生成合成内容标识办法
CAC, MIIT, Ministry of Public Security, NRTA · 2025-09-01in force
Requires all AI-generated or synthesized text, images, audio, video, and virtual scenes to carry both explicit labels perceptible to users and implicit metadata labels embedded in the file. It distributes duties across the full chain — generation service providers, content propagation platforms, and app distribution platforms — turning the labeling principles of the deep synthesis and generative AI rules into a uniform, enforceable regime.
—Explicit labels (显式标识): text, audio, or graphic marks users can plainly perceive in content or the interaction interface; implicit labels (隐式标识): metadata embedded in file data including provider identifiers
—Content propagation platforms must check for implicit labels and add notices; app stores must verify whether apps provide labeling as declared
—No one may maliciously delete, tamper with, forge, or conceal labels, or provide tools to do so; users posting AI-generated content must proactively declare it
—Implemented in tandem with mandatory national standard GB 45438-2025, effective the same day
Official CAC release, verified directly. Issued jointly by four departments on 2025-03-14 via notice (国信办通字〔2025〕2号 per the gov.cn gazette entry, no CAC order number); date given is the effective date (2025-09-01).
AI-generated content labeling regime takes effect; platforms roll out mandatory 'AI-generated' labels 《人工智能生成合成内容标识办法》施行
CAC, MIIT, Ministry of Public Security, National Radio and Television Administration · 2025-09-01news
The Measures for Labeling AI-Generated Synthetic Content (issued 14 March 2025) took effect on 1 September 2025, together with the supporting mandatory national standard GB 45438-2025. All AI-generated text, images, audio, video and virtual scenes must carry explicit (user-perceivable) and implicit (metadata) labels; distribution platforms must verify labeling and add risk warnings to suspected unlabeled AI content, and removing or tampering with labels is prohibited. Major platforms including WeChat, Douyin, Weibo and Kuaishou rolled out labeling functions and platform rules around the effective date — the compliance baseline now enforced through the 2026 Qinglang campaign.
—Dual labeling: explicit labels perceptible to users plus implicit metadata labels embedded in files
—Obligations span generation service providers, distribution platforms and app stores; deleting/tampering with labels banned
—Major social platforms (WeChat, Douyin, Weibo, Kuaishou and others) launched 'AI-generated' tags and detection-based labeling around the effective date
—Missing or defective labeling became a headline enforcement ground in the 2026 Qinglang AI campaign
Date is the effective date. Source is Xinhua (verified at this URL — effective date, dual explicit/implicit labels and platform verification duties confirmed; the platform-rollout detail is from contemporaneous coverage, not this article). The Measures' official issuance notice (2025-03-14) is on cac.gov.cn.
Measures for the Security Management of Facial Recognition Technology Applications 人脸识别技术应用安全管理办法
CAC, Ministry of Public Security (CAC Order No. 19) · 2025-06-01in force
Binding national rules on deploying facial recognition — a core applied-AI technology — to process face information within China. It imposes necessity, consent, and impact-assessment requirements and creates a filing regime for large-scale face databases. Included here as an AI-application measure; it also functions as a PIPL implementing rule.
—Processing face information requires conspicuous notice and the individual's voluntary, explicit separate consent, plus a personal information protection impact assessment
—Facial recognition may not be the sole verification method where reasonable non-biometric alternatives exist; individuals must be offered alternatives
—Filing with the cyberspace administration at provincial level or above within 30 working days once stored face information reaches 100,000 individuals
—Art. 13 prohibits installing face recognition equipment in private spaces within public venues (hotel rooms, public baths, changing rooms, toilets)
Official CAC text, verified directly (Order No. 19, adoption 2024-09-30, promulgation clause dated 2025-03-13, published on cac.gov.cn 2025-03-21). Date given is the effective date (2025-06-01). A previously circulated claim that pre-existing 100,000+ holders had a fixed 2025-07-14 filing deadline is not in the regulation text and was removed. Arguably a biometrics/personal-information rule rather than AI-specific stricto sensu — flagged for the editor's scoping decision.
Voluntary risk-governance framework released at the main forum of the 2024 National Cybersecurity Awareness Week, implementing the Global AI Governance Initiative. It maps AI risks into inherent technical risks (model/algorithm, data, system security) and application risks (network, physical, cognitive, ethical domains) and proposes matching technical countermeasures and governance measures. Not legally binding, but it supplies the risk taxonomy underlying TC260's subsequent standards work.
URL verified live; page confirms 2024-09-09 release by 网安标委 at the 2024 Cybersecurity Awareness Week, with official Chinese and English versions downloadable. Date is the release date (frameworks have no effective date). Superseded/upgraded by Framework 2.0 released 2025-09-15.
Measures for Science and Technology Ethics Review (Trial) 科技伦理审查办法（试行）
MOST with Ministry of Education, MIIT, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, NHC, CAS, CASS, CAE, CAST, CMC Science & Technology Commission (国科发监〔2023〕167号) · 2023-12-01in force
The cross-sector binding framework for ethics review of scientific and technological activities, expressly covering artificial intelligence alongside life sciences and medicine. Institutions engaged in ethics-sensitive AI research must establish ethics (review) committees and run defined review procedures. Its annexed expert re-review list is the hook that pulls high-risk AI work into a second, expert-level review.
—Universities, research institutes, medical institutions, and enterprises conducting ethics-sensitive AI activities must establish S&T ethics committees with defined composition and procedures
—Annexed list of activities requiring expert re-review (复核) includes development of algorithm models, applications, and systems with public-opinion or social-mobilization capability, and highly autonomous decision-making systems affecting human health or safety
—Covers human-machine fusion systems with strong influence on human behavior, emotions, and health
—For AI specifically, now supplemented by the 2026 AI ethics review measures (工信部联科〔2026〕75号), which operate as lex specialis with this instrument filling gaps (its Art. 35 cross-reference)
Official MOST text, verified directly (document number 国科发监〔2023〕167号, ten issuing bodies, document dated 2023-09-07, publicized 2023-10-08, Art. 56: 自2023年12月1日起施行). Date given is the effective date (2023-12-01). Trial (试行) instrument — binding but expressly provisional.
Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services 生成式人工智能服务管理暂行办法
CAC, NDRC, Ministry of Education, MOST, MIIT, Ministry of Public Security, NRTA (CAC Order No. 15) · 2023-08-15in force
The world's first binding national rule specifically on generative AI, applying to services that generate text, images, audio or video for the public within mainland China. It couples content-control duties (uphold core socialist values, no false information or discrimination) with lifecycle obligations on training data, labeling, and user protection, under a stated principle of inclusive-prudent, classified-and-graded regulation. It anchors the generative AI filing regime that all public-facing Chinese LLM services must pass before launch.
—Training data must have lawful sources, respect IP, and obtain consent where personal information is involved; data annotation needs documented rules, quality checks, and trained annotators
—Services with public-opinion attributes or social-mobilization capability must complete a security assessment and algorithm filing before offering services (Art. 17)
—Generated content must be labeled per the Deep Synthesis Provisions (now operationalized by the 2025 Labeling Measures); providers must prevent minors' over-reliance/addiction and run complaint mechanisms
—Purely internal/enterprise R&D uses not offered to the domestic public are outside scope; per CAC filing announcements, 611 generative AI services had completed filing as of 2025-11-01, rising to 868 as of 2026-04-30
Official CAC text, verified directly (Order No. 15, seven issuing agencies, adoption 2023-05-23, promulgation clause dated 2023-07-10, published on cac.gov.cn 2023-07-13). Date given is the effective date (2023-08-15). Filing counts are official CAC announcements: 611 as of 2025-11-01 (cac.gov.cn/2025-11/11/c_1764585284364412.htm) and 868 as of 2026-04-30 (cac.gov.cn/2026-05/13/c_1780413225190669.htm). Styled 'interim' (暂行) but still the operative instrument as of July 2026.
Provisions on the Administration of Deep Synthesis Internet Information Services 互联网信息服务深度合成管理规定
CAC, MIIT, Ministry of Public Security (CAC Order No. 12) · 2023-01-10in force
The deepfake rule: binding obligations on providers and technical supporters of deep synthesis technology (face swap, voice synthesis, text/image/video generation and editing). It pioneered mandatory labeling of synthetic content and consent requirements for biometric editing. Still in force; its labeling articles are now operationalized in much greater technical detail by the 2025 Labeling Measures and GB 45438-2025.
—Conspicuous labels required on synthetic content that could confuse or mislead the public (simulated persons, synthetic voice, face generation/editing)
—Face/voice editing functions require the service user to inform the edited individual and obtain their separate consent
—Real-name verification of users; algorithm filing for services with public-opinion attributes; security self-assessment for tools generating biometric information or with national-security implications
—Obligations extend beyond service providers to technical supporters and hosting platforms
Official CAC text, verified directly (Order No. 12, adoption 2022-11-03, promulgation clause dated 2022-11-25, published on cac.gov.cn 2022-12-11). Date given is the effective date (2023-01-10). Not superseded — labeling specifics now flow through the 2025 Labeling Measures.
Internet Information Service Algorithmic Recommendation Management Provisions 互联网信息服务算法推荐管理规定
CAC, MIIT, Ministry of Public Security, SAMR (CAC Order No. 9) · 2022-03-01in force
China's foundational binding rule on recommendation algorithms, covering generation-synthesis, personalized push, ranking-selection, search-filtering, and dispatch-decision algorithms used in internet information services. It created the algorithm filing (备案) registry and gives users rights against purely algorithmic curation. It remains the base layer on which the deep synthesis and generative AI rules were built.
—Providers with public-opinion attributes or social-mobilization capability must file algorithms in the CAC registry within 10 working days of providing services
—Users must be told the basic mechanism of the algorithm and be able to switch off algorithmic recommendation and delete user tags
—Special protections: anti-addiction for minors, safeguards for elderly users, scheduling protections for gig workers, ban on unreasonable algorithmic differential pricing (大数据杀熟)
—Prohibits using algorithms to manipulate rankings, fake traffic, or block/over-promote information contrary to law
Official CAC text, verified directly (Order No. 9, four issuing agencies, adoption 2021-11-16, promulgation clause dated 2021-12-31, published on cac.gov.cn 2022-01-04). Date given is the effective date (2022-03-01). Unofficial English translations: Stanford DigiChina, China Law Translate.
Local & regional18
China (Beijing) Pilot FTZ and National Demonstration Zone for Expanded Opening of the Services Sector — Data Export Negative List (2025 Edition) and Administrative Measures 中国（北京）自由贸易试验区、国家服务业扩大开放综合示范区数据出境负面清单（2025版）及管理办法
Beijing Municipal Cyberspace Administration, Bureau of Commerce, and Government Services & Data Administration · 2026-05-11in force
Issued 11 May 2026, this update extends the negative-list mechanism beyond the FTZ to the national services-sector demonstration zone, whose designation covers Beijing's entire territory — reported as the first extension of FTZ negative-list treatment to a full province-level jurisdiction. The list grows to 9 sectors and 67 business scenarios ('1 set of measures + 9 sector lists'), newly adding autonomous driving/intelligent connected vehicles among four new sectors — a significant liberalization for AI and AV data exports.
—Extends negative-list treatment via the citywide services demonstration zone, beyond FTZ boundaries
—9 sectors, 67 business scenarios ('1+9' structure); c. 612 data fields per media reporting
—Autonomous driving (ICV) confirmed among four newly added sectors (reported to include medical devices, trade logistics and banking)
Verified during audit: official notice at source URL confirms title and issue date 2026-05-11; 9-sector/67-scenario structure confirmed via official releases; the 612-field count and the exact identity of the other three new sectors rest on secondary reporting, not re-verified against the PDF attachments.
Hangzhou Regulations on Promoting the Development of the Embodied Intelligent Robot Industry 杭州市促进具身智能机器人产业发展条例
Hangzhou Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee (approved by Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee) · 2026-05-01in force
China's first local law on embodied AI robots: adopted by Hangzhou's legislature 29 December 2025, approved by Zhejiang province 26 March 2026, and effective 1 May 2026. Squarely promotion-oriented — seven chapters covering technology innovation, infrastructure, industry cultivation and application scenarios — with an added safety-management chapter that explores a robot coding/identification management system.
—First local legislation nationwide dedicated to embodied intelligent robots
—Provides a legal definition of an embodied intelligent robot (physical form + integrated perception-cognition-decision-action)
—Explores a robot coding/identification management system
Verified during audit: full text at source URL confirms adoption 2025-12-29 (31st session, 14th Hangzhou MPC Standing Committee), Zhejiang approval 2026-03-26, effective 2026-05-01. Host is Hangzhou Daily's official city portal (hangzhou.com.cn), not a gov.cn domain; npc.gov.cn coverage ('杭州率先为具身智能机器人产业发展立法') corroborates.
Beijing Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee · 2025-04-01in force
Adopted 31 December 2024 and effective 1 April 2025, this is Beijing's local law enabling autonomous-vehicle deployment — 7 chapters and 48 articles that are enabling/promotional in character, expressly supporting AV use for personal passenger cars, taxis/car rental, buses (excluding school buses), freight (excluding dangerous goods) and urban-operations vehicles.
—Explicitly supports AVs for individual private-car use — an addition made in the final text versus earlier drafts
Verified during audit: adoption 2024-12-31 (14th session, 16th MPC Standing Committee) and effectiveness 2025-04-01 confirmed at source URL; 7-chapter/48-article structure corroborated by Xinhua and Beijing Daily coverage. Full text available via the Beijing People's Congress (bjrd.gov.cn).
Guangdong Policy Measures for Promoting Innovation and Development of the AI and Robotics Industries 广东省推动人工智能与机器人产业创新发展若干政策措施
Guangdong Provincial People's Government General Office · 2025-03-09in force
A 12-measure provincial support package (Doc. No. 粤府办〔2025〕6号) dated 9 March 2025 (published 10 March), valid until 31 December 2027, to build AI and robotics into new pillar industries. Entirely promotional: up to RMB 8 million per benchmark manufacturing large-model application case, standards-development subsidies, and case-by-case ('one case, one discussion') support for major projects.
—12 measures spanning core technologies, enterprises, scenarios, clusters, data supply, open source, talent, financing, standards and inclusive regulation
—Up to RMB 8m per benchmark manufacturing AI large-model application case
—Standards subsidies: RMB 500k/300k/150k for leading international/national/industry standards
Verified against full text at source URL (fetched during audit): 成文日期 2025-03-09, 发布日期 2025-03-10, doc number, 12-measure structure, the 800万 case cap and 50/30/15万 standards amounts all confirmed. The previously stated '>RMB 100m provincial matching' figure was removed as not confirmed in the text reviewed.
Shenzhen Action Plan for Embodied Intelligent Robot Technology Innovation and Industry Development (2025-2027) 深圳市具身智能机器人技术创新与产业发展行动计划（2025—2027年）
Shenzhen Science, Technology and Innovation Bureau · 2025-03-03in force
Shenzhen's embodied-robot promotion plan, issued 3 March 2025 and replaced by a revised edition released 18 June 2026 (the notice voids the original). By 2027 it targets an associated industry scale above RMB 100 billion, 1,200+ cluster enterprises, 10+ firms valued over RMB 10 billion, 20+ firms with revenue over RMB 1 billion, and 50+ billion-yuan-scale application deployments.
—2027 targets: RMB 100bn+ associated industry scale; 1,200+ cluster enterprises
—10+ firms valued over RMB 10bn and 20+ firms with revenue over RMB 1bn; 50+ billion-yuan-scale application scenarios
—Rolling opening of application scenarios across government services, manufacturing, education, healthcare and other fields
—Revised edition released 18 June 2026, voiding the original — cite the revision for current text
Audit corrections: original issuance verified as 2025-03-03 (stic.sz.gov.cn post_12052515, which carries the original text); the revised edition was posted 2026-06-18, not 26 June as previously noted, and its notice states the original is simultaneously voided. Source URL points to the revised (current) edition.
Guangzhou Intelligent Connected Vehicles Innovation and Development Regulations 广州市智能网联汽车创新发展条例
Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee (approved by Guangdong Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee) · 2025-02-28in force
Adopted 29 November 2024, approved by the Guangdong provincial legislature 12 January 2025, and effective 28 February 2025. A promotion-oriented local law supporting ICV innovation, infrastructure, road testing and application scenarios in Guangzhou, including logistics/express-delivery use cases.
—Promotes ICV testing, demonstration and application citywide
—Supports application scenarios including postal and express-delivery vehicles
—Part of the 2024-2025 wave of city AV laws following Shenzhen, Shanghai (Pudong) and Beijing
—Required provincial People's Congress approval before taking effect
Verified against full text at source URL (fetched during audit): adopted 2024-11-29 (33rd session, 16th Guangzhou MPC Standing Committee), provincial approval 2025-01-12, effective 2025-02-28 — all confirmed verbatim.
Beijing Action Plan for Embodied Intelligence S&T Innovation and Industry Cultivation (2025-2027) 北京具身智能科技创新与产业培育行动计划（2025—2027年）
Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission / Zhongguancun Administrative Committee and other departments · 2025-02-28in force
Issued 28 February 2025, Beijing's embodied-AI plan aims by 2027 to break through 100+ key technologies, cultivate 50+ core enterprises, 50+ mass-produced products and 100+ scaled applications, be first to exceed 10,000 units produced, and build a 100-billion-yuan-level (千亿级) industry cluster. Purely promotional: R&D support for embodied 'brain' models, platform infrastructure, scenario opening and cluster building.
Date corrected in audit: the official notice page shows both document and release date as 2025-02-28 (researcher had 2025-02-27). Also corrected: the cluster ambition is 千亿级 (RMB 100-billion level), not trillion-yuan; the 10,000 figure refers to units produced. The previously listed link to a separate 100-billion-yuan investment fund was removed as not part of this document.
China (Shanghai) Pilot FTZ and Lingang New Area Data Export Management List (Negative List) (2024 Edition) 中国（上海）自由贸易试验区及临港新片区数据出境管理清单（负面清单）（2024版）
Shanghai Municipal Cyberspace Administration, Shanghai Data Bureau, Shanghai Development & Reform Commission, Shanghai FTZ and Lingang administrations · 2025-02-08in force
Shanghai's FTZ negative list and accompanying management measures, jointly published 8 February 2025 by five municipal authorities (labelled the '2024 edition'). The first batch covers finance (reinsurance), international shipping and commercial trade — 6 business scenarios and 84 data items per contemporaneous reporting — exempting listed-sector data outside the list from CAC export procedures for FTZ/Lingang enterprises.
—First batch: reinsurance, international shipping, commerce/trade scenarios (6 scenarios, 84 data items)
—Data outside the negative list may be exported without assessment/SCC/certification by FTZ firms
—Jointly issued by five Shanghai authorities; builds on Lingang's 2024 trial regime
—Instrument titled '2024 edition' despite the February 2025 release — flagged to avoid citation confusion
Verified during audit via search-indexed official pages: publication 2025-02-08, five joint issuers, three sectors and the 6-scenario/84-item count confirmed. The official pudong.gov.cn announcement URL returns HTTP 412 to automated fetchers but is the indexed official notice; an official PDF also sits on lingang.gov.cn (upload/1/cms/content/editor/23c0db06-4b70-4c3d-a566-6ae4ddfb3bc5.pdf).
Shanghai Implementation Plan for AI 'Model Shaping Shanghai' (Mosu Shencheng) 关于人工智能"模塑申城"的实施方案
Shanghai Municipal People's Government General Office · 2024-12-20in force
Shanghai's citywide large-model/'AI+' implementation plan (Doc. No. 沪府办发〔2024〕27号), issued 20 December 2024. A promotion program, not regulation: it targets 100 EFLOPS of intelligent compute, ~50 industry open-corpus demonstration results and 3-5 large-model innovation-acceleration incubators by end-2025, driving adoption across finance, manufacturing, education, healthcare, culture/tourism and urban governance.
—Implements the national 'AI+' agenda at municipal level via corpus, compute and incubator buildout
—Targets by end-2025: 100 EFLOPS intelligent compute, ~50 open-corpus demo applications, 3-5 model incubators
Verified against full text at source URL (fetched during audit): doc number 沪府办发〔2024〕27号, issue date 2024-12-20, compute/corpus/incubator targets and the six verticals all confirmed. Published on shanghai.gov.cn in February 2025.
China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone Data Export Negative List (2024 Edition) and Administrative Measures (Trial) 中国（北京）自由贸易试验区数据出境管理清单（负面清单）（2024版）、数据出境负面清单管理办法（试行）
Beijing Municipal Cyberspace Administration, Bureau of Commerce, and Government Services & Data Administration · 2024-08-30superseded
Released 30 August 2024 (document dated 26 August 2024), this was the first scenario-based, field-level FTZ negative list — reported as the first to include artificial intelligence as a covered sector, alongside automotive, pharma, retail and civil aviation. Data outside the listed fields could be exported by Beijing FTZ enterprises without CAC procedures. Updated and replaced in practice by the 2025 edition issued May 2026.
—First field-level list; AI was one of the 5 launch sectors (23 scenarios, 198 fields per official interpretation)
—Facilitates cross-border flows of AI training and operational data for FTZ firms
—Approved via the national data-security coordination mechanism and filed with CAC and the National Data Administration
—Updated by the 2025-edition list issued 2026-05-11, which expands scope and sectors
Verified during audit: official beijing.gov.cn page confirms release 2024-08-30 (doc dated 2024-08-26) with the list as a PDF attachment. Sector/scenario/field counts are from official interpretation and press coverage, not re-verified against the PDF. Marked superseded because the 2025 edition (issued 2026-05-11) covers the same ground with expanded scope; note the 2025-edition notice body does not itself contain an explicit repeal (废止) clause.
China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone Data Export Management List (Negative List) (2024 Edition) 中国（天津）自由贸易试验区数据出境管理清单（负面清单）（2024年版）
Tianjin Pilot FTZ Administrative Committee and Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Commerce · 2024-05-09in force
China's first FTZ data-export negative list, released 9 May 2024 under the CAC's March 2024 cross-border data rules that let FTZs write their own lists. FTZ enterprises exporting data outside the listed categories are exempt from security assessment, standard contract filing and certification — a liberalizing measure directly relevant to AI firms moving training and business data across borders.
—First FTZ negative list nationwide; 13 major data categories and 46 subcategories
—Data not on the list may leave China without CAC export procedures (for FTZ-registered firms)
—Covers priority sectors including biomedicine, integrated circuits, finance, automotive and international trade
—Template for subsequent Beijing and Shanghai lists
Release date (2024-05-09), joint issuers, first-in-nation status and the 13-category/46-subcategory structure verified during audit via search-indexed official pages and Xinhua coverage. The official Tianjin Bureau of Commerce URL returns HTTP 403 to automated fetchers but is the indexed official notice; mirror on the Tianjin CAC site: tjcac.gov.cn/wsfw/sjkj/sjcjfmqd/202505/t20250513_6930095.html.
Lingang New Area Measures for Classified and Graded Administration of Cross-Border Data Flows (Trial) 中国（上海）自由贸易试验区临港新片区数据跨境流动分类分级管理办法（试行）
Shanghai FTZ Lingang New Area Administrative Committee · 2024-02-08superseded
Trial measures (Doc. 沪自贸临管规范〔2024〕3号) effective 8 February 2024 with express one-year validity to 7 February 2025, establishing Lingang's pioneering three-tier scheme — core data, important data (catalogued), general data (listed) — with sector 'general data lists' rolled out for fields including intelligent connected vehicles during 2024. Its approach fed into the Shanghai FTZ-wide negative-list system that followed.
—First 'general data list' (whitelist) approach to cross-border data in a Chinese FTZ sub-area
—Three tiers defined in the measures: core, important (catalogued), general (listed)
Fully verified during audit from the official PDF at source URL: doc number, approval at the 2024-01-30 committee meeting, issuance 2024-02-08, and Article 21's express validity '自2024年2月8日起试行，有效期至2025年2月7日' all confirmed. Marked superseded as the trial lapsed and the Shanghai FTZ negative-list framework took over.
Beijing Measures for Promoting General Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Development 北京市促进通用人工智能创新发展的若干措施
Beijing Municipal People's Government General Office · 2023-05-23in force
Beijing's flagship general/large-model AI policy package (Doc. No. 京政办发〔2023〕15号), dated 23 May 2023 and publicly released at end-May 2023 — one of the first local government responses to the large-model boom. A support-and-promotion document, not a regulatory instrument: 21 measures across compute, data, model R&D, applications and an explicitly inclusive regulatory posture.
Date corrected in audit: the official page shows the document dated 2023-05-23; public release was widely reported as 30 May 2023 (the researcher's original date). Verified against full text on the Beijing International S&T Innovation Center portal (ncsti.gov.cn, a Beijing municipal body); doc number and 21-measure/5-section structure confirmed.
Shanghai Pudong New Area Provisions on Promoting Innovative Application of Driverless Intelligent Connected Vehicles 上海市浦东新区促进无驾驶人智能网联汽车创新应用规定
Shanghai Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee (Pudong New Area regulation) · 2023-02-01in force
A Pudong New Area regulation (a special legislative category) adopted 23 November 2022 and effective 1 February 2023, with 34 articles enabling fully driverless vehicles — no onboard driver or safety operator — in designated Pudong zones. Promotion-oriented: it creates a graduated pathway from road testing through demonstration operation to commercial deployment.
—Targets vehicles with no onboard driver or safety operator — beyond most contemporaneous local rules
Verified against full text at source URL (fetched during audit): adopted 2022-11-23 (46th session of the Shanghai MPC Standing Committee), effective 2023-02-01, 34 articles confirmed.
Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Artificial Intelligence Industry Promotion Regulations 深圳经济特区人工智能产业促进条例
Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee · 2022-11-01in force
China's first special legislation dedicated to the AI industry, adopted 30 August 2022 under Shenzhen's SEZ legislative powers and effective 1 November 2022. It is a promotion statute, not a restrictive one: 7 chapters and 73 articles on basic research, computing/data infrastructure, application scenarios and incentives, plus a governance chapter setting ethics and risk principles.
—Statutory definitions of 'artificial intelligence' and 'AI industry'
—Innovative product-access mechanism: low-risk AI products meeting advanced international standards may be trialled even where national/local standards are absent
—Government-opened application scenarios and public data supply to nurture the industry
—Governance chapter establishes ethics review and risk-management principles rather than hard prohibitions
Verified against full text at source URL (fetched during audit): adopted 2022-08-30 by the 11th session of the 7th Shenzhen MPC Standing Committee, effective 2022-11-01, 7 chapters/73 articles confirmed.
Shanghai Regulations on Promoting the Development of the Artificial Intelligence Industry 上海市促进人工智能产业发展条例
Shanghai Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee · 2022-10-01in force
China's first provincial-level local law on AI (Shanghai is a province-level municipality), adopted 22 September 2022 and effective 1 October 2022. It is overwhelmingly promotion-oriented — 6 chapters and 72 articles securing computing power, data, talent and funding support for the AI industry — with a comparatively light governance chapter rather than a restrictive licensing regime.
—Promotion-first: support for compute infrastructure, public data openness, talent and industry funds
—Graded management: list-based regime for high-risk AI (Art. 65); Art. 67 enumerates six categories of prohibited AI-related conduct
—Establishes an AI ethics expert committee (Art. 66) and encourages industry standards
—6 chapters, 72 articles; first provincial-level AI legislation in China
Verified against full text at source URL (fetched during audit): adoption 2022-09-22, effective 2022-10-01, 6 chapters/72 articles, Art. 65 graded management, Art. 66 ethics committee, Art. 67 six-item prohibited-conduct list all confirmed. Host is a sh.gov.cn subdomain (Shanghai enterprise-service platform).
Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Intelligent Connected Vehicles Administration Regulations 深圳经济特区智能网联汽车管理条例
Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee · 2022-08-01in force
China's first local law governing intelligent connected vehicles, adopted 23 June 2022 and effective 1 August 2022. Unlike the pure promotion statutes, this one builds a full-chain administrative regime — road testing, demonstration, market access and registration, use management, traffic-violation and accident liability — making Shenzhen the first city to give higher-level automated vehicles a legal path onto public roads.
—First Chinese local legislation permitting registration and road use of intelligent connected (including driverless) vehicles
Verified against the gazette text at source URL (fetched during audit): adopted 2022-06-23 (10th session, 7th Shenzhen MPC Standing Committee), effective 2022-08-01. Also on szrd.gov.cn.
MOST Letter Supporting Beijing in Building a National New Generation AI Innovation and Development Pilot Zone 科技部关于支持北京建设国家新一代人工智能创新发展试验区的函
Ministry of Science and Technology (designation for Beijing Municipality) · 2019-02-21announced
The founding document of China's first national new-generation AI innovation and development pilot zone in Beijing: the MOST letter (国科函规〔2019〕27号) is dated 20 February 2019 and was published on most.gov.cn on 21 February 2019. Pilot zones are policy-experiment vehicles — testing AI applications, institutional reforms and ethics norms — rather than binding regulation; the program later expanded to 17+ zones nationwide including Shanghai, Tianjin, Hangzhou and Shenzhen.
—First of China's national new-generation AI pilot zones (Beijing, Feb 2019)
—Focus: policy experimentation, application demonstration, AI ethics/standards groundwork
—MOST commits coordination, guidance and experience-diffusion, with monitoring and evaluation
—Program grew to 17 zones nationwide by December 2021 (per Xinhua)
Verified against the MOST page (fetched during audit): letter dated 2019-02-20, published 2019-02-21, doc no. 国科函规〔2019〕27号. A designation/pilot program, not legislation. The Beijing zone's 18 Feb 2019 inauguration event is per contemporaneous reporting.