Economic Watch: China seeks to cushion AI impact on jobs, build talent strength

BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- From chatbots to autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how work gets done in China, boosting efficiency while redrawing industrial boundaries. However, the shift has heightened concerns about job displacement, with workers ranging from assembly-line operators to designers and translators already feeling the pressure.

Acknowledging short-term disruption, economists believe AI is less the end of jobs than a transformative force that, much like earlier waves of technological revolutions, will restructure the labor market by giving rise to new professions and work models.

China's policymakers, for their part, are acting to guide AI's development in an effort to cushion its impact on employment, while also stepping up investment in human capital, aiming to build a workforce better equipped for rapid technological changes and support an economy in transition.

NO JOB KILLER

Analysts said concerns about technology displacing workers are hardly new. Every major technological leap, from the steam engine to mechanization, has triggered similar fears.

"Even as some traditional roles are gradually fading, AI raises productivity and opens space for new industries, creating new opportunities and redefining employment in the future," said Wu Jie, an analyst of think tank DRCnet.

In August 2025, the State Council rolled out guidelines for the "AI Plus" initiative, calling for broader use of AI to create new jobs and upgrade existing ones, while steering innovation resources toward sectors with strong employment potential.

The World Economic Forum has projected in a report that by 2030, AI and data processing technologies would have created about 11 million jobs worldwide, more than offsetting the roughly 9 million jobs they are expected to displace. Notably, this dynamic is already visible in China.

China's AI core industry is approaching a scale of 600 billion yuan (around 85.58 billion U.S. dollars), according to Ding Zhuang, a research fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China. "From breakthroughs in large language models and algorithms to the deep integration of AI with manufacturing, services and biotech, demand for talent is surging," he said.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has identified 72 new occupations over the past five years, with more than 20 tied directly to AI. Each new occupation is expected to generate jobs for 300,000 to 500,000 people in its early stages.

Autonomous driving offers a telling case study. Rather than simply replacing drivers, companies are creating roles that combine operational experience with digital skills.

Firms behind robotaxi services are hiring ground-safety supervisors, vehicle testers and dispatch algorithm engineers. Many openings give priority to former taxi, bus or ride-hailing drivers, reflecting a push to retrain rather than discard traditional workers.

One such transition is Zhang Chao, a former car leasing manager who is now a remote safety operator for robotaxis in Beijing. He monitors autonomous vehicles in real time and intervenes when necessary, such as rerouting cars in response to road closures. The role requires a solid understanding of vehicle systems and software, as well as concentration and patience, Zhang said.

"The factory floor used to be about assembling, welding and repairing. Now workers are shifting from holding wrenches to managing systems, becoming testers and operators for intelligent connected vehicles," said Wang Hao, a researcher at the China Center for Information Industry Development.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE

With AI representing a deep restructuring of skills, divisions of labor and job forms, the government has accelerated adaptation through retraining, upgraded education and investment in human capital.

A nationwide skills-upgrading campaign through 2027 is providing subsidized training for more than 30 million people. Schools have been ordered to strengthen AI education, starting at the primary level, to help students understand how technology interacts with society.

More recently, a new phrase has emerged in official documents: "Investing in human capital." It has appeared repeatedly in the 2025 government work report, long-term development planning papers, and a high-level economic meeting last month that set priorities for 2026.

This concept reflects a shift in thinking. As technology accelerates, human creativity has become the core competitive asset that is helping China move from labor-intensive growth toward intelligence- and creativity-driven development, analysts explained.

Given an aging population, improving human capital will help China shift from a demographic dividend to a talent dividend, said Liu Mingxi, a researcher at the Institute of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Despite such momentum, experts said much still needs to be done. Aligning university curricula with fast-moving AI applications, retraining mid-career workers, and supporting those displaced by automation all require a more comprehensive policy framework.

Gong Piming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, called for targeted transition assistance for groups hit hardest by technological changes, including enhanced unemployment benefits, retraining subsidies and re-employment incentives to shorten their path back to work.

China should create multi-tiered digital talent programs and embed "AI training for all" and lifelong learning into the workforce, said Li Tao, a professor at Beijing Normal University, noting the significance of such efforts to help the workforce adapt to disruptive changes driven by accelerating development of AI. ■