China is aiming to position itself at the forefront of the brain-computer interface (BCI) industry, in which technology enables communication between the human brain and computers using thought alone.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other agencies issued a roadmap in early August for achieving breakthroughs in key technologies by 2027, allowing the country to be among global leaders by 2030.
By then, China is expected to have built a safe and reliable industrial system, enabling rapid growth in fields like healthcare, the consumer sector and industrial manufacturing. The most well-known example so far is Elon Musk-led Neuralink in the US.
Two or three BCI industrial zones are to be set up by 2027 where new application scenarios and new business modes will be cultivated, and by 2030, the country should have developed a safe and reliable industrial system with two to three world-leading enterprises and smaller enterprises with expertise in specific sub-fields.
The document focuses on increasing research efforts on software and hardware technologies, breaking barriers among industries, promoting applications of innovative technologies and strengthening the construction of testing platforms.
A 2024 report by industry analysts chinaIRN.com showed the Chinese BCI market reached 3.2 billion yuan (US$457.1m) in 2024. It is predicted to rise to about 3.8 billion yuan (US$542.9m) in 2025.
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