China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released an action plan to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence into the software and information technology services industry, setting a target to significantly boost sector intelligence and roll out applications across 20,000 major software companies by 2028. The plan, titled the "AI Plus Software" Special Action Implementation Plan, aims to elevate the industry's intelligent capabilities and drive a new leap in the convergence of AI with software services by 2030.

The initiative is built on the principles of "application-driven, innovation-led, secure and controllable, and ecosystem synergy," with a focus on reshaping software and IT services through AI and using intelligent programming to transform industrial efficiency. It seeks to promote the intelligent upgrading of software products, nurture the development of agent-based software, enhance the quality of IT services, and solidify the foundation for intelligent development while fostering a favorable environment for growth.

By 2028, the plan targets the implementation of 100 intelligent technology transformation projects for software enterprises, the establishment of 100 benchmark applications for intelligent agent software in key industries, and the incubation of over five key open-source projects. By 2030, the integration of AI with the software and IT services industry is expected to achieve new milestones, propelling China's software sector toward the high end of the global value chain.

The plan outlines six key areas of work: transforming software production processes, accelerating the intelligent upgrade of software products, cultivating new business models for intelligent agent software, expanding intelligent software services, strengthening the foundation for software intelligence, and optimizing the industry's development environment. It calls for optimizing the chain of intelligent programming tools, organizing technological transformations for software firms, and accelerating the intelligent upgrade of critical software, including foundational and industrial software. The plan also encourages the development of various types of intelligent agent software—spanning general-purpose, specialized, vertical, and industrial applications—and promotes new service models such as "model-as-a-service" and "agent-as-a-service." These efforts are designed to shift software development from "manual coding" to "human-machine collaboration," software products from "passive response" to "proactive execution," and software services from "product delivery" to "value delivery."

Additionally, the plan highlights the importance of fostering open-source collaborative innovation, strengthening computing power support, and building high-quality datasets to reinforce the sector's intelligent development base. It also emphasizes the need to enhance key standard formulation, talent cultivation, employment-friendly development, and security assurance capabilities to optimize the overall industry environment.

The plan is expected to create a new landscape of efficient production, intelligent products, inclusive services, and a robust ecosystem, providing solid technical support and innovative momentum for advancing new industrialization and building a modern industrial system.