China says it will “actively address” AI's impact on jobs, and plans more than 200 national occupational standards by 2030

China announced an initiative to promote employment in response to the development of artificial intelligence at a press conference on Saturday 10 October, Xinhua reports in a story also published on the government's English-language website. Li Zhong, vice minister of human resources and social security, said “that China would actively address the impact of AI and other emerging technologies on employment,” according to Xinhua.

The plan is to write or revise more than 200 national occupational standards in 2026–2030. China has added 72 new occupations in the past five years, including AI trainers, and authorities have announced another 11 since the start of 2026, Xinhua says. Wu Liduo, an official of the ministry, also spoke at the briefing.

Officials gave the jobs figures behind the announcement: 10.52 million new urban jobs in the first nine months of 2026, 87.7 percent of the annual target, and a surveyed urban unemployment rate that averaged 5.2 percent in the first eight months. Xinhua ties the initiative to a five-year employment-first plan.

As reported, the announcement is about naming and standardising new kinds of work, not about protecting existing jobs. It comes as the Switchboard has tracked employers elsewhere linking job cuts to AI, among them Norway's DNB and, the FT reports, HSBC.

• Confirmed Vice Minister Li Zhong announced an initiative to promote employment in response to AI development at a press conference on 10 October. Xinhua, via gov.cn
• Confirmed More than 200 national occupational standards are to be written or revised in 2026–2030, after 72 new occupations in five years, including AI trainers, and 11 more since the start of 2026. Xinhua
• Confirmed China created 10.52 million new urban jobs in January–September, 87.7% of the annual target; surveyed urban unemployment averaged 5.2% in January–August. Xinhua