Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Governance of Science and Technology Ethics (Draft for Feedback)

• Authority: Chinese central government
• Jurisdiction: China
• Collections: Chinese law and policy
• Most recent activity: Proposed
• Most recent activity date: 2021-07-28

Risk subdomain coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the risk subdomain are explicitly described.

• Governance failure
• AI pursuing its own goals
• Lack of capability or robustness
• Lack of transparency or interpretability

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• False or misleading information
• Cyberattacks, weapon development or use
• Loss of human agency and autonomy
• Competitive dynamics
• Environmental harm
• AI welfare and rights

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has good coverage of approximately 8-10 subdomains, with strong focus on governance structures (6.5), AI system safety and ethics (7.1, 7.3, 7.4), privacy protection (2.1), and malicious use prevention (4.2). Coverage is concentrated in governance, AI safety, and ethical oversight domains, with particular emphasis on establishing review mechanisms and preventing ethical violations.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Educational Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Information
• Public Administration (excl. National Security)
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The document primarily governs Scientific Research and Development Services, Educational Services, and Health Care sectors, with explicit requirements for institutions engaged in life sciences, medicine, and AI research. It also applies to all sectors through general S&T ethics requirements for universities, research institutions, medical institutions, and enterprises conducting S&T activities.

Legislative Status

Soft Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a draft guidance document ('Draft for Feedback') using primarily voluntary and recommendatory language ('shall' in aspirational context), establishing principles and frameworks rather than binding legal obligations with enforcement mechanisms.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Chinese central government; CCP Central Committee; State Council; Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)
• Summary: The document is proposed by the Chinese central government as indicated by the title 'Guiding Opinions' and references to implementing decisions of the CCP Central Committee and State Council. MOST is designated to handle secretariat duties.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Deployer, AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Institutes of higher education; scientific research institutions; medical institutions; enterprises; S&T personnel; local governments; industrial main oversight departments
• Summary: The document explicitly targets multiple entity types including universities, research institutions, medical institutions, and businesses that conduct S&T activities, particularly those in AI, life sciences, and medicine. It also applies to government bodies and individual researchers.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: National Science and Technology Ethics Commission; Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST); local governments at all levels; industrial main oversight departments; funding agencies; supervisory authorities; judicial authorities
• Summary: The document establishes the National Science and Technology Ethics Commission as the highest oversight body, with MOST handling day-to-day operations. Local governments and industrial departments are responsible for enforcement in their jurisdictions, with various penalties and sanctions specified.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: National Science and Technology Ethics Commission; S&T ethics (review) committees; local governments; industrial main oversight departments; relevant research institutions; community groups
• Summary: The document establishes comprehensive monitoring through ethics review committees at institutional level, with oversight by the National Commission and reporting requirements to track compliance and emerging risks.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Collect and Process Data
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers the entire AI lifecycle with particular emphasis on the Plan and Design, Verify and Validate, and Operate and Monitor stages. It establishes comprehensive ethics review requirements before, during, and after S&T activities, with strong focus on risk assessment, ongoing monitoring, and emergency response mechanisms.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Systems

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions AI systems and AI activities multiple times, with specific focus on artificial intelligence as a key field requiring ethics governance. It does not define specific AI subcategories like frontier AI, general purpose AI, or foundation models, nor does it mention compute thresholds or open-weight models.