Shenzhen Special Economic Zone AI Industry Promotion Regulation

Legal hierarchy: Shenzhen Special Economic Zone legislation (local regulation, SEZ legislative power) | Enacting body: 11th session of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress (passed 2022-08-30) | Promulgated: 2022-09-06 | In force: 2022-11-01 | Nature: hard law.

Hierarchy note: this rule is a local regulation made under Shenzhen Special Economic Zone legislative power; its territorial scope is limited to Shenzhen. It is China’s first dedicated local AI industry statute, with pilot-and-experiment significance for national legislation — many of its institutional mechanisms (risk classification-and-grading, regulatory sandboxes) have been taken up in national rules such as the Interim Measures for Generative AI.

Summary

The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone AI Industry Promotion Regulation (《深圳经济特区人工智能产业促进条例》) was passed on 2022-08-30 by the 11th session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress, promulgated on 2022-09-06, and entered into force on 2022-11-01.

Significance:

China’s first dedicated local AI industry statute.
The world’s first comprehensive legal instrument focused on AI industry promotion rather than regulation.
A pioneering pilot for national-level AI legislation (for example, “classification-and-grading” and “regulatory sandbox” mechanisms were later drawn on by national rules).

Legislative structure

7 chapters, 73 articles:

General provisions
Basic research and technology development
Industry infrastructure development
Application-scenario expansion
Promotion and safeguards
Governance principles and measures
Supplementary provisions

Definition of AI (in the Regulation)

“Artificial intelligence” in this Regulation refers to the use of computers or devices under their control, by means of perceiving the environment, acquiring knowledge, and conducting reasoning and inference, to simulate, extend, or augment human intelligence.

→ This is broader than the later national definition in the Interim Measures for Generative AI; it covers all forms of AI rather than only generative AI.

Core innovations (pioneering effect on national legislation)

1. Low-risk AI products “pilot-and-experiment”

For low-risk AI products and services that conform to advanced international product standards or specifications but for which national or local standards have not yet been established, pilot-and-experiment is permitted by means of testing, trials, and pilots.

→ This is the first time at the legislative level in China that a “pilot-and-experiment” mechanism has been established for AI — 4 years earlier than the national “AI sandbox safety service platform” (Article 28 of the 2026 proposed Measures on Anthropomorphic Interactive Services).

2. Classification-and-grading supervision

The Regulation establishes the principle of classification-and-grading supervision, 1 year earlier than Article 3 of the national Interim Measures for Generative AI (which likewise refers to “classification-and-grading supervision”).

3. Compute / data / talent incentives

Compute vouchers and joint build-out of compute infrastructure.
Open public data.
Talent attraction and cultivation.

4. Ethics governance

An AI ethics committee.
An ethics review mechanism (predating the national-level Measures for the Review of Science and Technology Ethics (Trial), in force 2023-12-01).

Pioneering effect on national legislation

Shenzhen innovation	Later national-level uptake
Low-risk AI pilot-and-experiment (in force 2022-11)	Article 28 “AI sandbox” of the Anthropomorphic Services Measures (in force 2026-07)
Classification-and-grading supervision (2022)	Article 3 of the Interim Measures for Generative AI (2023) + AI Safety Governance Framework (2024/2025)
AI ethics committee	Measures for the Review of Science and Technology Ethics (2023-12)
AI-product market-entry regime (the Regulation)	(not yet taken up nationally, but drawn on by several localities)

This illustrates the “local experimentation + central uptake” legislative tradition that has characterized China since the reform-and-opening era, which the accompanying papers summarize as an “central — local — enterprise three-tier collaborative” agile-governance mechanism.

Enforcement

Competent authority: the Shenzhen Municipal Science, Technology and Innovation Bureau (for industry promotion) + the municipal CAC office (content safety) + the municipal Market Regulation Bureau (standards).
Legal liability: oriented toward promotion, with relatively few penal clauses; breaches of basic-research or data-security provisions are punished under the upper-tier law.

Relation to national rules

Non-conflict principle: the Shenzhen Regulation may not conflict with national laws and administrative regulations.
Pilot-and-experiment: local initiative is permitted in areas not yet legislated nationally; once national legislation appears, the local rule is adjusted under the “non-conflict” principle.
Inbound and outbound: the Regulation does not restrict non-Shenzhen entities operating in Shenzhen, but prioritizes support for locally-based R&D and deployment.

Primary text and archives

Source	Link
Shenzhen People’s Congress	szrd.gov.cn/v2/zx/szfg/content/post_966197.html
PDF (Aliyun mirror)	cnshuziren.oss-cn-shenzhen.aliyuncs.com/…/条例.pdf
Shenzhen Municipal Gazette	Issue No. 1258 (2022-09-30)
People’s Daily Online commentary	sz.people.com.cn/n2/2022/0906/c202846-40113369.html

Subsequent local uptake (nationwide)

Shanghai Regulation on Promoting the Development of the AI Industry (2022-10, Shanghai People’s Congress).
Beijing Measures on the High-Quality Development of the AI Industry (2023).
AI regulations from Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan and other provincial capitals issued in waves over 2024-2026.

Revision history

Date	Event
2022-08-30	Passed by the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen People’s Congress
2022-09-06	Promulgated
2022-11-01	In force