China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has unveiled a new action plan targeting a comprehensive intelligent transformation of the software and IT services sector by the end of the decade. The initiative, focused on integrating artificial intelligence with software development, was officially released on September 13th, signaling a major push to modernize the industry's core capabilities.

The plan outlines that by 2028, the sector's overall intelligence level should see significant improvement, with the adoption of new technologies spreading to 20,000 companies above a designated scale. It also sets targets for implementing 100 enterprise-level intelligent upgrade projects, creating 100 benchmark applications of agent software in key industries, and fostering at least five high-quality open-source projects.

To achieve these goals, the plan details measures across six key areas, including transforming software production processes and accelerating the intelligent upgrade of software products. A central focus is on developing AI-driven intelligent programming tools that can assist in tasks like automatic vulnerability detection, defect identification, and risk assessment for existing software systems.

Authorities also intend to enrich software's intelligent functions across various aspects of production and daily life. This includes promoting the establishment of application marketplaces for agent software and a resource library for associated skills, alongside supporting the construction of high-quality datasets tailored for the software industry.

Furthermore, the plan encourages software companies to optimize human-machine collaborative workflows even as they enhance intelligence. It calls for synchronized implementation of job restructuring and skills training, as well as the development of new job roles to adapt to the evolving landscape. To support these initiatives, the ministry will leverage mechanisms like "open competition for the best candidates" to drive key tasks, and will coordinate various funding channels and policies, including fiscal special funds, to accelerate research into core technologies, infrastructure development, and application scenarios.