The State Council issued an opinion to mitigate the impact of artificial intelligence applications on employment substitution

On October 23, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Adapting to the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technology to Support the Construction of Employment-Friendly Development Models" (Guo Ban Fa [2026] No. 29). The document proposes to adapt to the development of artificial intelligence technology, enhance the positive effects of job creation, empower traditional positions, and mitigate the impact of job replacement.

The opinions point out that the role of artificial intelligence should be leveraged to improve the employment environment, enhance occupational safety levels, and improve work quality and efficiency, with priority given to promoting applications in positions with labor shortages and high-risk environments; it is essential to cautiously manage the scope, intensity, and pace of artificial intelligence applications in labor-intensive industries to minimize the impact on workers. The document also encourages enterprises to explore the establishment of an unemployment buffer period system, to inform affected workers in advance during the large-scale promotion of artificial intelligence applications, and to provide support for job transition and transformation.

The opinions also outline deployments in areas such as strengthening job creation effects, constructing employment-friendly upgrade paths, enhancing workers' digital literacy and employment capabilities, promoting artificial intelligence-enabled employment policy services, improving workers' rights protection and social security, and perfecting employment monitoring, early warning, and risk response mechanisms. The document is dated October 16, 2026, and is marked for public release.