The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the development and application of artificial intelligence. The outline of the 15th Five Year Plan proposes to "deepen and expand 'artificial intelligence+', empower economic and social development and enhance governance capabilities, promote deep level changes in production methods and revolutionary leaps in productivity". The Opinion of the State Council on Deepening the Implementation of the "Artificial Intelligence+" Action proposes to "cultivate artificial intelligence application service providers" and "build an artificial intelligence application service chain".

Artificial intelligence application service providers (hereinafter referred to as service providers) refer to enterprises or institutions that provide artificial intelligence solution consulting, planning, delivery, implementation, operation management, security governance and other services around the intelligent needs of user units. At present, a number of artificial intelligence application service providers have emerged in China, but they still face pain points such as unclear resource base, uneven delivery level, incomplete commercial closed loop, and weak service ecology.

In order to coordinate the supply and implementation of the artificial intelligence industry, cultivate specialized artificial intelligence application service providers, and solve the difficulties and bottlenecks of industry scale promotion, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, based on its responsibilities, organized a special action to cultivate artificial intelligence application service providers, systematically laid out key tasks, promoted the establishment of a service provider resource pool, improved service capabilities, opened up application paths, strengthened the service provider ecosystem, and supported the in-depth implementation of the "Artificial Intelligence+" action.

The "Service Provider Action" is based on the principles of "expanding quantity and improving quality, hierarchical cultivation, innovation leadership, and application orientation", with the main line of building a multi-level service provider echelon with reasonable structure, orderly division of labor, and collaborative innovation, accelerating the cultivation of an artificial intelligence application service ecosystem with full element collaboration, full chain connectivity, and full scene coverage.

The main actors of the action cover all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in China. Based on the current development status and industry application needs of the local artificial intelligence industry, we will promote the implementation of key tasks, expand the resource pool of service providers, improve the quality and efficiency of service supply, innovate service models, and strengthen and improve the service ecology.

The results of the action include establishing a national and regional service provider resource pool, cultivating a group of service providers with strong service capabilities and industry influence, building a group of upstream and downstream collaborative artificial intelligence application service teams, forming a group of "small, fast, light and accurate" artificial intelligence product services, and cultivating a group of composite application talents who understand business, understand models, know security, and can deliver.

The 'Service Provider Action' focuses on the pain points and issues facing the current development of service providers, with four key tasks for system layout:

One is to establish a service provider resource pool by getting the bottom line. Organize a comprehensive survey of service providers across the country, establish and improve service provider files, summarize and form a national service provider resource pool, and provide a resource base for the cultivation and management of service providers.

The second is to enhance capabilities and improve the level of service supply. Promote the establishment of an artificial intelligence application service team and strengthen the linkage between upstream and downstream units. Coordinate various innovation carriers and optimize technological innovation capabilities. Timely push security risks and enhance the management capabilities of service providers in terms of security, ethics, compliance, and other aspects.

The third is to promote closed-loop and scale application. Encourage the creation of standardized services and the formation of replicable solutions. Implement supply and demand matching activities and increase publicity and promotion. Expand the scope of scene openness and enhance the procurement efforts of service providers. Improve the overseas service system and promote the landing of high-quality artificial intelligence application projects overseas.

The fourth is to strengthen the ecosystem and enhance the support and guarantee of service providers. Make good use of tools such as "computing vouchers" to ensure the supply of service providers' resources. Encourage the establishment of training bases, develop frontline deployment engineers (FDE), and enhance professional talent reserves.

The Service Provider Action focuses on five types of services:

One is consulting and planning services, including but not limited to AI related business strategy consulting, industry insight analysis, management system construction, project implementation plan design, and other services.

The second is to deliver implementation services, including but not limited to the use of artificial intelligence related platform tools, customized application development, system integration, and other services.

The third is operational management services, including but not limited to maintenance of artificial intelligence related terminal equipment, system monitoring and maintenance, software maintenance and updates, product iteration optimization, and other services.

The fourth is security governance services, including but not limited to AI related security protection, risk warning, security reinforcement, and other services.

The fifth is supporting services, including but not limited to AI related teaching and training, testing and evaluation services.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will strengthen overall guidance, timely study and solve major problems and key issues in the promotion of special actions, and provide preferential support in relevant policies and projects for areas with good implementation effects of special actions, and increase efforts to promote the application of results.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will establish an online platform for artificial intelligence application service provider resource pools in a timely manner to facilitate information sharing and utilization.

Encourage industrial and information technology regulatory departments in various regions to strengthen policy support and provide corresponding supporting resources to service providers.