Walking the Path of AI Innovation and Development with Chinese Characteristics — A Dialogue with Zhang Shuangxi, Researcher at an Academy of the Academy of Military Sciences
Walking the Path of AI Innovation and Development with Chinese Characteristics — A Dialogue with Zhang Shuangxi, Researcher at an Academy of the Academy of Military Sciences
■ Li Jiaqi, Li Long, PLA Daily Correspondent Cheng Xue
[Image: Conceptual illustration of artificial intelligence technology. AI-generated image.]
At the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, the Conference of Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 11th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology, artificial intelligence was identified as a frontier domain in which China must advance research and development of key core technologies.
China's development of artificial intelligence has gone from starting with nothing and being subject to others' control, to achieving breakthroughs on multiple fronts and leading in certain areas. Behind this lies the quiet dedication of generation after generation of science and technology workers, who used perseverance to break monopolies and innovation to forge a new path.
The course of scientific and technological development has proven to us time and again that key core technologies cannot be begged for, bought, or borrowed. Only by persisting in self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology can we thoroughly break foreign technology monopolies and standards blockades, and firmly grasp the initiative in future development.
In this installment of the Science and Technology Interview Series, we speak with Zhang Shuangxi, a researcher at an academy of the Academy of Military Sciences, to hear him discuss the substance of artificial intelligence, the current state of its development, and future directions — and to hear the story of how China's science and technology workers, through independent research and independent innovation, have continuously produced original and pioneering results in the field of artificial intelligence and have sustained their deep cultivation at the frontier of AI technology.
[Image: Conceptual illustration of artificial intelligence technology. AI-generated image.]
A New Engine Driving the Development of the Age
Reporter: At this conference, the key elements and era-defining value of artificial intelligence were elaborated upon. Could you explain in plain language what artificial intelligence is? Compared with traditional informatized technology, where does its disruptive innovation lie?
Zhang Shuangxi: At present, artificial intelligence is surging forward. It takes data, computing power, and algorithms as its key elements; is grounded in theoretical breakthroughs in neuroscience, cognitive science, computational science, and related fields; and is characterized by the collective breakthroughs and broad permeation and enablement of cutting-edge intelligent technologies. It exhibits prominent features such as data-driven operation, interconnection of all things, human-machine collaboration, and cross-domain integration.
Compared with traditional informatized technology, the disruptive innovation of artificial intelligence technology is manifested primarily in the leap from "rapid transmission" to "autonomous cognition (自主认知)."
In the 1980s and 1990s, the core software and hardware of domestic large-scale computer rooms and enterprise data platforms were almost entirely dependent on imports. At that time, systems had no capacity for independent analysis; they could only passively store and transmit data. All data organization, information assessment, and pattern summarization had to be completed manually.
To give the most intuitive example: when processing early meteorological data, researchers could only analyze and calculate by hand, and computing a single forecast took an extremely long time. The machines of that era could only "store data and transmit data" — they could not think, screen, or anticipate. This was the limitation of traditional informatized technology at the time: transmission only, no cognitive capability.
With the development of artificial intelligence technology, this situation has been thoroughly transformed. Today's intelligent systems can autonomously complete the full closed-loop cycle of "perception — decision — execution (感知—决策—执行)," integrate and analyze multi-source information, intelligently mine complex patterns, and accurately anticipate future trends.
To summarize briefly: traditional informatized technology addressed the problem of information "mutual exchange and rapid transmission (互通有无、快速传递)," whereas intelligentization (智能化) achieves "autonomous cognition and intelligent creation (自主认知、智能创造)" of information — and this is precisely the embodiment of artificial intelligence technology's "disruptive innovation." From informatization (信息化) to intelligentization (智能化): this is an important technological leap in the development of China's artificial intelligence technology over the past several decades.
Reporter: In today's world, a new round of scientific and technological revolution is accelerating, competition over frontier technologies is fierce, and artificial intelligence has become the main battlefield of international science and technology competition. From a global perspective, what is the competitive landscape in artificial intelligence? At what overall level does China's development stand?
Zhang Shuangxi: At present, countries are continuously increasing their research investment in the field of artificial intelligence, concentrating innovative resources, and competing to seize future tracks.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense's FY2026 unmanned systems budget documents, its annual research, development, and procurement budget for unmanned intelligent systems is as high as more than 13 billion dollars, with funding focused on humanoid combat robots, all-domain swarms across land, sea, and air, and extreme-environment adaptive systems. The Russian military, grounded in operational requirements, is rapidly improving the anti-jamming and battlefield survivability of intelligent equipment and advancing its large-scale application.
Looking at China, in terms of AI development achievements, our overall development stands at the advanced level of "running in parallel with the world globally, and leading in certain domains (全球并跑、部分领域领跑)." From early complete dependence on foreign computing equipment, to a total computing power scale that now steadily ranks among the world's top, to continuous breakthroughs in technologies such as computer vision and natural language processing — it can be said that China has thoroughly escaped the predicament of the past, in which it was "subject to others' control and passively following (受制于人、被动跟随)."
Boldly Venturing into "Uncharted Territory (无人区)": From Following to Running in Parallel to Leading
Reporter: In the scientific pursuit of continuously achieving breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology, what spirit of innovation has been accumulated?
Zhang Shuangxi: Today, we enjoy the development dividends of the digital age and the intelligent age, but very few people know that today's development was ground out step by step from a zero baseline under total blockade.
In the past, faced with comprehensive technology blockades, the older generation of scientists, under conditions of having nothing, used paper and pen to derive formulas, used abacuses to iterate data, and used simple equipment to build experimental platforms. Over the course of decades, they laid a solid foundation for China's computer science.
It is precisely because of the perseverance and dedication of generation after generation of science and technology workers that the history of "China has no core algorithms, China has no indigenous computing power" was thoroughly ended, and the spark was planted for today's development of artificial intelligence.
After reform and opening up, China's information technology gradually caught up, but core chips, underlying systems, and foundational algorithms remained long monopolized by foreign entities. Around the year 2000, the domestic internet and digital industries developed rapidly, but almost all underlying architectures and core components were entirely dependent on imports. Once foreign suppliers restricted supply or tightened licensing, large numbers of domestic platforms and systems would face the risk of shutdown at any moment.
Faced with this long-standing passive situation of being "strangled at the throat (卡脖子)," a new generation of researchers persisted in the path of independent innovation, deeply cultivating algorithms and breaking through computing power bottlenecks.
This scientific research character — unafraid of blockades, willing to sit on the cold bench (甘坐冷板凳), daring to venture into uncharted territory (敢闯无人区), and pressing forward in sustained assault across generations — is the core secret of the rapid development of China's artificial intelligence technology.
Deeply Enabling High-Quality Development of Human Society
Reporter: China's artificial intelligence technology has now been widely deployed across many fields including public services, industrial upgrading, and social governance. Could you introduce several examples of applied AI achievements based on real cases?
Zhang Shuangxi: After years of iterative development, China's artificial intelligence has moved out of the laboratory and moved comprehensively toward industrialization, integration into daily life, and universal accessibility, deeply penetrating every aspect of human social development and becoming a powerful driver for improving people's wellbeing and driving industrial upgrading.
In the field of public services, intelligent government affairs, smart healthcare, and intelligent education are gradually becoming widespread. Relying on AI intelligent analysis systems, government approval processes can achieve second-level review and intelligent verification, allowing the public to make fewer trips while data does more of the running; medical AI-assisted diagnostic systems can rapidly screen imaging lesions, helping to improve the quality and efficiency of grassroots healthcare and bringing high-quality medical resources down to thousands of households.
In the field of industrial upgrading, intelligent manufacturing and intelligent quality inspection have been widely deployed. Traditional manufacturing industries are using artificial intelligence to achieve automated production, intelligent inspection, and intelligent scheduling, leaving behind the old model of manual assembly lines and experience-based production. Many established industrial bases have achieved transformation and upgrading through AI digital transformation, radiating entirely new vitality.
In the field of public governance, intelligent meteorological forecasting, smart traffic dispatching, and intelligent monitoring of natural resources have substantially improved the precision and scientific level of social governance. Relying on big data and AI computing power, the accuracy of extreme weather early warnings and disaster risk assessments has been substantially improved.
In the field of basic scientific research, artificial intelligence is enabling original innovation. In areas such as new materials research and development, biopharmaceutical breakthroughs, astronomical and geographical research, and foundational mathematical simulation, artificial intelligence technology is helping researchers shorten research cycles, reduce experimental costs, and improve innovation efficiency, and has become an indispensable "intelligent assistant."
It can be said that today, artificial intelligence technology is no longer a distant frontier concept; it has become a key technology serving society, benefiting people's livelihoods, and supporting innovation, injecting continuous scientific and technological momentum into advancing Chinese-style modernization (中国式现代化).
Squarely Facing Shortcomings and Weaknesses, Cultivating Innovative Talent for the New Era
Reporter: This conference objectively pointed out that China's scientific and technological development still has problems such as insufficient capacity for original innovation and low efficiency of science and technology investment. Measured against this scientific assessment, what shortcomings remain in China's current AI development?
Zhang Shuangxi: First, the accumulation of foundational innovation is still insufficient. China's artificial intelligence technology iterates rapidly, deploys broadly, and achieves good results at the application level, but in source innovation domains such as underlying foundational theory, original algorithm systems, and foundational mathematical models, the accumulation is relatively weak.
Second, there are still shortcomings in high-end core foundational components. The performance of certain ultra-high-precision computing power chips, extreme-environment-adapted components, and high-end intelligent sensors still needs improvement, and key foundational materials and core processes still require sustained breakthroughs.
Third, the system for deep integration of industry, academia, and research still needs improvement. At present, some frontier research results remain at the laboratory stage; the transformation chain from theoretical breakthrough and technology prototype to large-scale industrial application is not sufficiently smooth, and innovative value has not been fully released.
Nevertheless, looking back at the history of China's AI technology development, it has itself been a process of continuously discovering problems and solving problems. Squarely facing gaps and deficiencies is the foundation of our confidence in continuing to move forward. We will anchor on the goal of building a strong science and technology nation, fill in the shortcomings in artificial intelligence, and continuously activate innovative value.
Reporter: The conference emphasized the need to treat the building of a young science and technology talent workforce as a strategic project, and to carry out cultivation, recruitment, and utilization work in an all-around manner. To support the long-term development of artificial intelligence, how should we strengthen the talent workforce and carry forward the spirit of scientists?
Zhang Shuangxi: Looking back at the history of China's scientific and technological development, the most precious wealth has never been equipment and technology, but rather the scientific research founding aspiration (科研初心) and spirit of serving the nation (报国精神) passed down from generation to generation.
From the 1950s and 1960s, when countless top scientists gave up comfortable conditions abroad and resolutely returned to China to start from scratch and work hard under difficult conditions; to the young scientific researchers of the new era who bravely shoulder heavy responsibilities and dare to forge ahead and innovate — the spirit of patriotism, truth-seeking, innovation, and dedication (爱国、求实、创新、奉献) has never changed.
The scientific research founding aspiration and spirit of serving the nation have always been passed on. During the development of a certain large domestic model, many young research teams were rooted in the laboratory year-round, iterating models through the night, repeatedly refining algorithms, and continuously optimizing performance. With a tenacity that refused to concede defeat, they rapidly caught up with the international advanced level. These young people took the baton from their predecessors and shouldered the banner of scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening in the new era.
Looking to the future, we hope to temper young talent through major scientific research projects and key innovation platforms, while at the same time carrying forward the spirit of scientists, guiding the broad community of science and technology workers to hold their country in their hearts, take root at the frontier of technology, and work persistently over the long term — so that through a lifetime of perseverance and deep cultivation, they may lift up the bright future of China's intelligent science and technology.
Layout design: Wu Huaijiang