China’s push to dominate emerging technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence and robotics is already well established. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, Beijing is now focusing on another battleground: language. Chinese authorities are encouraging the use of standard Chinese terminology for artificial intelligence and related technologies instead of English words and phrases. By promoting Chinese-language AI terminology, Beijing hopes to reduce reliance on English-centric tech vocabulary and increase its influence in the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.
The move is part of a broader effort to strengthen China’s “discourse power”, a term used by officials to describe the country’s ability to shape global narratives, technical standards and the language through which new technologies are understood and discussed.
China is encouraging people to use standard Chinese terms instead of English AI jargon, saying this could strengthen the country’s ability to shape global discussions about technology.
China’s state media has raised concerns about the growing use of English AI terms such as “agent” and “LLM”, which stands for large language model, according to the South China Morning Post. The South China Morning Post reported that the latest push follows an official decision in March to use “ciyuan” as the standard Chinese translation for the AI term “token”.
