Nabaz Mustafa
Director of the Global Civilization Initiative Research Center
This initiative is an official step by the Chinese government to reorganize and adapt the labor market to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution and emerging technologies.
In China's political system, no economic or technological decision is separated from ideology and the state's supreme strategy. Furthermore, in the governance philosophy of the Chinese Communist Party, stability is a red line. Unemployment and mass job losses caused by artificial intelligence could lead to discontent, especially among youth and university graduates. Therefore, the initiative acts as a shield to prevent any social unrest.
The political legitimacy of authority in China is linked to a social contract in which the authority provides a comfortable life, job opportunities, and economic growth as a right, while in return, citizens adhere to the political system as a duty. At the same time, protecting job opportunities in the era of AI preserves this legitimacy.
China aims to be a leader in the global technology race. Hence, its goal through this initiative is to adapt a healthy environment; it aims for technology to enter all facets of production more rapidly without disruption. At the same time, it is a political message to the outside world that while giant corporations in capitalist countries lay off workers without plans and create inequality, the Chinese state has the ability to direct technology and maintain balance through centralized planning.
This concept, introduced by Mr. Xi Jinping, carries a neo-Marxist dimension, meaning that technological progress and artificial intelligence must become the primary force of economic growth, but at the same time must be balanced with social relations rather than marginalizing human beings.
Meaning that in the official theory of the Communist Party (Xi Jinping Thought), the ultimate goal of socialism is to serve the people. From this perspective, technology is a means, not an end; technology must not lead to the marginalization of humans, but rather must serve to enhance the quality of life and the dignity of human labor. Hence, the text emphasizes the "responsible development of technology."
One of the most important ideological pillars of contemporary China is preventing the accumulation of digital wealth solely in the hands of a few wealthy individuals or giant corporations. The initiative aims to distribute the achievements of AI across all segments of society through job opportunities and new professions.
At the same time, in socialist ideology, labor is the primary source of human value and identity. When the state seeks to introduce and formalize new professions, it aims to protect the social status of the working class in the era of the new economy and prevent humans from becoming insignificant appendages to machines and algorithms.
In essence, this initiative is a well-planned effort by the Communist Party to prove that under the model of "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," the state does not allow the capitalist market and technology to determine human destiny at their whim; rather, the state itself harnesses technology to serve political stability and social justice.