China Issues Rules for Generative AI, Mandating Adherence to ‘Socialist Values’

China has issued the world’s first comprehensive regulatory framework governing generative AI, with the aim of encouraging innovation while upholding the country’s ideological values and maintaining control over online content. The new rules cover text, images, audio, and video generated by AI systems and are intended to promote “healthy content” aligned with “core socialist values.”

AI providers must adhere to these values, avoiding content that incites subversion of state power or threatens national security, social stability, or state power. The regulations also require AI systems to avoid generating “false or harmful information” and to respect intellectual property rights. The regulations are aimed at steering AI-driven public-facing services, rather than the underlying AI technologies themselves.