China has been among the top ranks in terms of the development of AI, with some areas even taking the lead, said Pan Jiaofeng, a deputy to the National People's Congress and president of the Institutes of Science and Development at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"China's success in AI is based on its existing scientific and technological capabilities," Pan told China Perspective during an exclusive interview. "Meanwhile, China places particular emphasis on using applications to drive innovation."

Driven by a massive domestic market and the world's richest application scenarios, China is firmly positioned among the global leaders in AI deployment, he noted.

Pan cited the usage of AI large models as a key indicator, noting that China has already surpassed the United States, nearly doubling that of the US.

"This shows that in application-driven development, China is ahead in this regard," he said.

Pan acknowledged existing gaps in areas such as high-end chips and foundational model architectures. However, he expressed confidence that continued application-driven innovation will spur upstream technological breakthroughs over time.

"The development of AI has now entered a critical stage of large-scale implementation and application," Pan said. "At this stage, China should be in the global first tier. In applications, we are on par with the United States, and perhaps even slightly ahead. In original innovation, we still have a gap to close, but China has chosen the correct path."

He added that this year's Spring Festival Gala showcased the achievements of China's application-driven AI development and provided the public with clearer expectations for future technological progress.

Xu Yadi contributed to this story