Published by ChinaMNC · Nanshan

China's State Council Signals AI Push and Price-Rule Tightening: What Foreign Founders Should Know

A State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang reviewed progress on the "AI+" initiative and advanced draft revisions to the Teachers Law and Price Law, plus changes to 14 administrative regulations and repeal of 4 others. Here is what the session covered and why it matters for foreign founders operating in China.

What Happened at the State Council Executive Meeting

On October 16, Premier Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council, China's cabinet. According to the official readout, the meeting heard a report on progress of the "AI+" initiative, discussed a draft revision of the Teachers Law, discussed a draft amendment to the Price Law, and approved in principle a draft decision to amend and repeal certain administrative regulations. The meeting also examined other matters, which the readout did not detail.

For foreign founders building or running a company in China, the session is worth reading closely: it touches on industrial policy toward artificial intelligence, competition and pricing rules that affect platform businesses, and a housekeeping exercise that adjusts or removes a set of administrative regulations.

The "AI+" Initiative: Application First

The meeting described artificial intelligence as a key variable shaping future development. It said China's approach should start from the country's existing conditions, including a complete industrial system, rich application scenarios and strong engineering capability, and should let real-world deployment pull technological innovation forward. The "AI+" initiative is to be deepened and expanded.

Building the Foundation

The readout listed several foundation-level priorities:

• Strengthen technical research and algorithm innovation.
• Promote coordination between computing and electricity.
• Increase the supply of high-quality data.
• Address weak points and reinforce strengths.

Emphasis on Application

The meeting stressed that enabling application should be the focus, with the real economy as the priority. It called for better matching of supply and demand, encouragement of joint research and development, progress in pilot-scale testing and verification, and more effort to cultivate application scenarios, so that AI technology is better converted into real productive capacity.

Development and Security Together

The meeting also said development and security must be planned together, with policies differentiated by industry and tier, stronger risk assessment, and a firm security baseline for AI.

Practical takeaway for foreign founders: the direction of travel favors companies that can show concrete, deployed use cases, particularly in industrial and real-economy settings, and that can partner on R&D and testing. The readout does not announce any new subsidy, licensing channel or guarantee; it sets out policy priorities.

Teachers Law Draft Moves to the Legislature

The meeting discussed and approved in principle a draft revision of the Teachers Law and decided to submit it to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for review. The readout said teachers are the foundation of education and the source of its vitality.

The stated priorities include strengthening protection of teachers' pay and rights, reducing non-teaching burdens, improving public services for teachers, and safeguarding their professional dignity and lawful rights. The draft also aims to cultivate a high-quality, professional teaching workforce, improve the teacher education system, raise teaching ability, strengthen professional ethics, and foster public respect for teachers.

This item is primarily domestic education policy. It does not directly change company registration or foreign investment rules, but it is relevant to founders in the education and training sector who track regulatory direction.

Price Law Amendment: A Signal on Low-Price Competition

The meeting discussed and approved in principle a draft amendment to the Price Law and decided to submit it to the NPC Standing Committee for review. According to the readout, the amendment responds to new circumstances by further improving the price governance mechanism, refining government pricing procedures, and clarifying the standards for identifying improper pricing conduct and the associated legal liability.

Rules Against Disorderly Low-Price Competition

The meeting called for governing low-price disorderly competition in accordance with laws and regulations. It pointed to supporting rules such as industry cost investigations and the suppression of below-cost dumping, and to stronger price enforcement and supervision.

Platform Economy Pricing

The meeting also called for continued regulation of pricing conduct in the platform economy, guiding companies to keep raising the value of their products and services, and creating a fair and orderly market environment.

Practical takeaway for foreign founders: if your China entity operates a platform, marketplace or online sales channel, pricing conduct is squarely in scope. The readout signals scrutiny of below-cost pricing and of platform pricing behavior, and it points to cost investigation and anti-dumping-type rules. Note that these are draft amendments pending legislative review, not rules currently in force.

Amending 14 Regulations and Repealing 4

The meeting approved a draft decision to amend parts of 14 administrative regulations, including the implementing regulations of the Archives Law, and to repeal 4 administrative regulations, including the provisions on limits of liability for maritime passenger transport between Chinese ports.

For founders, this is a compliance-maintenance item. If your operations touch archiving, port passenger transport or adjacent areas, check whether the specific regulation you rely on is among those being amended or repealed once the final text is published.

What to Watch Next

• The Teachers Law and Price Law drafts now go to the NPC Standing Committee; the final texts may differ from what the State Council approved in principle.
• The regulation amendments and repeals will be published in final form; verify the exact provisions before adjusting compliance programs.
• The "AI+" discussion sets priorities rather than specific incentives; watch subsequent implementing measures from ministries and localities.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.