AI Governance Tops China’s 2025 Technology Buzzwords List
AI governance has been recognized as the most significant term in the Top 10 Technology Buzzwords of 2025, as released by the Chinese Society for Science and Technology Journalism. This marks a notable global shift in artificial intelligence from mere technological competition to a focus on rulemaking and governance.
Experts, including Yin Chuanhong, president of the Science Popularization Times, emphasize that ensuring the safe, reliable, and controllable development of AI technology is now a paramount concern for the global community. Yin stated, “China’s tech community is keenly aware that technological excellence must be matched with wise governance to ensure sustainable and steady progress.”
China’s Leadership in AI Governance
An editorial in Nature highlighted China’s proactive stance in global AI governance. During the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, China proposed the establishment of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization and introduced the Global AI Governance Action Plan. Yin noted that China is no longer merely a follower of international AI governance rules but aspires to be a constructive contributor and leader in this domain.
Other Notable Buzzwords of 2025
Alongside AI governance, other key terms in the top 10 technology buzzwords include:
- Embodied intelligence
- Controlled nuclear fusion
- Brain-computer interface
- Commercial space
- Deep-sea technology
- Deep-space exploration
- Silver economy technology
- Intelligent agents
- Chinese innovation
The selection process for these buzzwords combined big data screening with expert evaluation, focusing on China’s major technological breakthroughs in 2025. The criteria emphasized not only technological advancement but also public impact, aligning with national strategies such as high-quality development and energy security.
Significant Developments in Key Areas
Embodied intelligence was featured for the first time in China’s government work report, signaling favorable policy support for this critical area of innovation. Furthermore, China has made substantial contributions to controlled nuclear fusion, highlighted by the completion of a massive superconducting electromagnet system announced by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor organization in April 2025.
The brain-computer interface industry in China has also seen significant progress, with breakthroughs in core technologies and applications. This technology has been identified as a priority future industry in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).
In the realm of commercial space, the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site and the Oriental Spaceport in Haiyang, Shandong province, have achieved regular launch capabilities, paving the way for a burgeoning trillion-yuan ($144 billion) market.
Top Science and Technology News Events of 2025
At the same event, the society also released the Top 10 Science and Technology News Events of 2025, which included:
- AI company DeepSeek’s release of a series of open-source large models.
- The unveiling of Zuchongzhi-3, a superconducting quantum computing prototype with 105 qubits.
- The world’s first humanoid robot half-marathon held in Beijing.
- The start of construction on a hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River.
- The commissioning of China’s first electromagnetic catapult aircraft carrier, the CNS Fujian.
