Emily Mullin
A new policy document outlines China’s plan to create an internationally competitive BCI industry within five years, and proposes developing devices for both health and consumer uses.
In a policy document released this month, China has signaled its ambition to become a world leader in brain-computer interfaces, the same technology that Elon Musk’s Neuralink and other US startups are developing.
Brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, read and decode neural activity to translate it into commands. Because they provide a direct link between the brain and an external device, such as a computer or robotic arm, BCIs have tremendous potential as assistive devices for people with severe physical disabilities.
In the US, Neuralink, Synchron, Paradromics, and others have sprung up in recent years to commercialize BCIs. Now, China boasts several homegrown BCI companies, and its government is making the development of the technology a priority.
Jointly authored in July by seven departments within the Chinese government—including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Health Commission, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences—the new policy document lays out a road map for China to achieve breakthroughs in BCI technology by 2027 and build an internationally competitive industry by 2030.
“We know that China is strong at translating basic research into practical uses and commercialization. We’ve seen that in other industries, such as photovoltaics and electric cars. Now BCI is another area where that’s going to be critical,” says Max Riesenhuber, a professor of neuroscience and codirector of the Center for Neuroengineering at Georgetown University Medical Center, who has published research on China’s BCI developments.
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