Pulusi · Tongan

China's New Tech-Driven Commerce Policy: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

A practical briefing for foreign founders on China's first 'tech-driven commerce' policy, covering AI in manufacturing, consumer goods, service consumption, and the business environment measures announced at the October 19, 2026 State Council Information Office press conference.

What Was Announced

On October 19, 2026, China's State Council Information Office held a press conference to present the Opinions on Accelerating the Advancement of Tech-Driven Commerce (《关于加快推进科技兴商的意见》), a document already released publicly. The briefing featured Yuan Xiaoming, Assistant Minister of Commerce; Wei Wei, Director of the Science and Technology Department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT); Meng Yue, Director of the Market System Development Department at the Ministry of Commerce; and Zhou Hanping, a representative of the Industry Development Department at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

According to the officials, this is the first comprehensive, systemic policy document organized around the theme of "tech-driven commerce." For foreign founders building or expanding a company in China, the document signals where regulators see technology reshaping supply chains, retail, and consumer services over the coming years.

The Four Pillars of the Policy

Yuan Xiaoming outlined 18 specific measures grouped into four areas:

• Technology upgrading goods consumption: better matching product supply with consumer demand through flexible manufacturing and personalized customization.
• Technology expanding services consumption: raising service levels in basic categories such as housekeeping and catering, broadening upgraded services such as culture, tourism, and sports, and improving personalized service quality.
• Technology smoothing commerce circulation: a special action plan for digital-intelligent supply chains, upgrading wholesale and retail, and building a quality-focused e-commerce ecosystem.
• Technology shaping future commercial scenarios: cultivating intelligent, green, and integrated consumption scenarios.

The document also addresses the enabling environment across six areas: standards, infrastructure, safety supervision, R&D and commercialization, talent cultivation, and fiscal and financial support.

Why Foreign Founders Should Pay Attention

Commerce is described in the briefing as the key link between production and consumption and a pillar of building a strong domestic market. Officials cited fast-iterating technologies — artificial intelligence, big data, embodied intelligence, and digital twins — as forces changing how commerce is organized and operated, and improving the consumer experience.

From a company-registration and operations standpoint, the policy's direction matters because it indicates where government support, standards, and infrastructure investment are likely to flow. Founders in consumer goods, e-commerce, logistics, AI services, or services consumption should map their China business plans against these four pillars.

AI and Manufacturing: Concrete Progress Cited

Wei Wei of MIIT provided the most detailed operational update. He referenced President Xi Jinping's July 2026 remarks at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference on promoting AI applications across industries. According to MIIT estimates cited at the briefing, China's core AI industry scale exceeded RMB 1.2 trillion in 2025.

MIIT and seven other departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, issued the "AI + Manufacturing" special action implementation opinion in late 2025. Wei described results from the past year:

• Scenario-driven adoption: more than 1,000 high-value application scenarios identified across 20 industries including steel, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals; 285 typical application cases published; supply-demand matchmaking organized for over 5,000 companies; AI technology application penetration among above-scale manufacturing enterprises exceeding 30%.
• Industrial foundations: over 500 high-quality datasets built across 20 key industrial fields, more than 100 industrial intelligent agents promoted, hundreds of national and industry standards drafted, and leadership in developing over 70 international standards.
• AI terminal products: a national standard system for grading AI terminal intelligence, with standards already published for seven product categories including smartphones, computers, televisions, and glasses; over 100 products meeting assistant-level capability requirements; more than 100 million smart terminals shipped in the first half of 2026.
• Enterprises and talent: over 6,600 AI enterprises as of end-June 2026, an application service provider cultivation program, and a national excellent engineer practice base.
• Industry ecosystem: the AtomGit open-source community, a RMB 60 billion national AI industry investment fund, and AI ethics review and service measures.

Next Steps for AI and Consumer Goods

Wei outlined three priorities: strengthening technology supply through challenge-based mechanisms and replicable smart solutions; accelerating product renewal, including AI computers and phones via trade-in channels and advances in brain-computer interfaces and embodied intelligence; and smoothing production-to-sales linkages through service provider cultivation and matchmaking activities.

What the Policy Means in Practice

Yuan framed the document's characteristics as "new, comprehensive, and practical." He cited Ministry of Commerce big data showing that sales of smart glasses on key platforms grew 1.1-fold year-on-year in January–September 2026 — a data point suggesting consumer appetite for smart devices is real, not hypothetical.

Practical measures relevant to founders include:

• Developing flexible manufacturing and on-demand production models, and cultivating influential customization brands.
• Digital-intelligent transformation of livelihood services such as housekeeping, healthcare, and elderly and childcare services.
• Expanding smart education, smart cultural tourism, and smart sports offerings.
• A quality e-commerce cultivation action, including networked verification of key products on e-commerce platforms.

For foreign founders, these signal compliance expectations in e-commerce quality verification and opportunities in service-digitization niches.

What Was Not Covered

The source transcript is truncated mid-sentence during a question from a reporter about services consumption, so details of the services-related measures beyond the general pillars are not available here. Founders should consult the full published document for specifics.

Practical Takeaways

• Align with the four pillars when shaping your China entity's business scope and product roadmap.
• Watch standards development in AI terminals and industrial AI — early compliance can be a competitive advantage.
• Explore trade-in and matchmaking channels referenced by MIIT for market entry and demand generation.
• Monitor implementing measures from the six environment-related areas, including fiscal and financial support.

Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.

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