Beijing's eight departments issue a science and technology ethics opinion: a 'Beijing approach' to AI ethics

In January 2025 eight Beijing departments — including the municipal science and technology commission and the Zhongguancun administrative committee, together with the publicity department, the cyberspace office, the education commission, the bureau of economy and information technology, the agriculture bureau, the health commission and the science association — issued trial implementation opinions on strengthening science and technology ethics governance. Anchored in Beijing’s role as an international centre for science and technology innovation, the document explores a “Beijing approach” to ethics governance in artificial intelligence, biomedicine and other fields.

Why eight departments

Science and technology ethics governance touches research, industry, publicity, education and health, and a single department cannot cover it. Joint issuance by eight departments reflects that ethics governance is shifting from a research-management matter to a cross-departmental one.

For AI companies, this means ethics requirements may arrive through different doors: project management by the science and technology authorities, or filing and review by industry regulators. See our notes on the AI education ethics reference framework and on the science and technology ethics review measures.

What “trial” means

The trial framing indicates the mechanisms are still exploratory and may adjust with practice. The practical signal for companies is that ethics review requirements will first appear as principles and processes, then be refined into checkable standards.

At this stage, building an internal ethics review mechanism in advance is more proactive than waiting for detailed rules. See our notes on the AI application ethics and security guideline and on the AI national standards.

Local practice and the national framework

Local ethics governance practice usually precedes a unified national standard, and its experience is absorbed into later national rules. As a science and technology innovation centre, Beijing’s pilot arrangements often carry signalling value.

For companies conducting AI research and application locally, tracking how the local opinion is implemented helps anticipate the direction of national requirements. See our notes on the Beijing AI industrialisation plan.

This article is based on the trial implementation opinions on strengthening science and technology ethics governance issued by eight Beijing departments and is for reference only; it does not constitute legal advice.