China records sharp rise in number of generative AI users

The number of users of generative artificial intelligence in China had reached 602 million as of December, an increase of 141.7 percent compared to the end of 2024, according to a report released on Thursday.

The report, issued by the China Internet Network Information Center's policy and international cooperation division, revealed that the adoption rate of generative AI has exceeded 42 percent, marking a significant year-on-year rise of 25.2 percentage points.

It states that generative AI is rapidly integrating into daily life and production sectors, becoming a key driver of digital and intelligent transformation in society.

The report adds that AI serves as a powerful tool for the transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises, effectively addressing their challenges of difficult research and development, high costs and low efficiency. For example, one new energy company has utilized industrial vision quality inspection models to reduce the defect rate in its new energy battery production line from 0.3 percent to 0.05 percent.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are active AI practitioners, the reports states, noting that, in the first quarter of 2025, 254,000 new AI software development SMEs were established.

By the end of last year, the number of internet users in China had reached 1.125 billion. The internet penetration rate has now surpassed 80 percent, allowing the benefits of digital development to reach a broader segment of the population, according to the report.