From the State Council's release of the "New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan" in 2017 to the "State Council Opinions on Deeply Implementing the 'AI+' Action" in 2025, and from the Ministry of Education's release of the "Innovation Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education Institutions" in 2018 to the joint release of the "'AI+ Education' Action Plan" by five ministries including the Ministry of Education in 2026, this policy evolution clearly demonstrates a two-way linkage between top-level design and educational implementation, a synergistic interplay between technological push and demand pull, and a conceptual leap from "AI" to "AI+". These four documents echo and build upon one another, forming a complete policy loop from "national framework to educational pilots, and national upgrade to educational response," fully reflecting China's strategic resolve of "clear top-level design and orderly step-by-step implementation" in the AI field.

"In the age of AI, what should education do?" - This is a question of our time, a practical issue, and a developmental challenge that demands an answer. "AI, education first" - Education is both the "first mile" and the "last mile" of national strategy: it is among the earliest fields to embrace AI, and the key arena where policy outcomes are ultimately tested.

To gain a deeper understanding of the evolution path of China's AI policy - from "technological breakthroughs" to "capability building" and then to "comprehensive empowerment" - the 10th episode of the "AI Walks China" forum series, hosted by the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (CAAI) and themed "From New Generation AI to AI+: Education in Action," will be held online on Friday, April 17, 2026, from 19:30 to 21:30.

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