China Launches 17-Point Plan to Integrate AI into Consumer Markets

China's Ministry of Commerce and seven other government departments released a comprehensive implementation plan on June 18, 2026, designed to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence with consumer markets. The policy addresses a structural bottleneck in AI adoption by targeting both supply and demand sides simultaneously, aiming to resolve situations where AI products exist without markets or consumer needs lack adequate supply.

The initiative encompasses five broad areas with 17 specific measures. In product consumption, the plan focuses on expanding intelligent terminal supply, encouraging consumers to transition from functional to smart electronics, and establishing humanoid robots as a new consumer category. The policy promotes a seamless "person-vehicle-home" ecosystem where AI converges with emerging technologies like brain-computer interfaces and augmented reality to develop internationally competitive products. Additionally, the plan includes establishing AI product launch platforms to facilitate consumer access to new innovations.

For service consumption, the policy targets five key sectors: residential living, elderly care, tourism, hospitality, and education. Measures include integrating smart home applications into housing construction standards, equipping elderly care facilities with AI-powered systems, intelligent security infrastructure, and robotic caregivers. The plan also calls for applying AI to enhance hotel services for international guests and deploying AI-assisted systems in institutional dining facilities.

Commercial innovation represents a third pillar, focusing on retail, e-commerce, and logistics. The plan aims to embed technological innovation into existing commercial systems, leveraging e-commerce platforms' advantages, and improving supply chain efficiency across urban and rural areas through AI-enabled delivery solutions including smart parcel lockers and automated distribution terminals.

According to Lin Jian, Vice President of the Ministry of Commerce's International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute, service consumption drives China's growth but faces constraints from high labor costs and low standardization. AI adoption is expected to overcome these barriers while signaling broader penetration of AI from retail into public and life services. The policy framework represents a strategic shift in consumption growth logic from external stimulus toward technology-driven development, supporting China's dual-circulation economic model.

The implementation plan includes support measures such as establishing AI+consumption cluster zones and experience centers, promoting product rental and shared-use models in public spaces, and coordinating with existing consumer goods trade-in policies to incentivize adoption of new intelligent terminals.