China has taken a major step in the global AI race with the launch of a powerful artificial intelligence system that can directly access the country’s national supercomputing infrastructure and carry out advanced scientific research on its own.
The system was officially launched on December 23, marking a significant milestone just weeks after the United States announced its own ambitious AI-led science initiative.
Designed to operate at a national scale, the new platform is already available to more than a thousand institutional users across China. Unlike traditional research tools, the system can independently plan and execute complex scientific tasks, raising fresh questions about how AI could reshape science, security, and global technological competition.
An AI system built to run science autonomously
According to China Science Daily, the new AI agent can accept simple natural-language instructions and carry out entire research workflows with minimal human involvement. Once given a task, it can break the problem into steps, allocate computing resources, run simulations, analyze large datasets, and generate comprehensive scientific reports.
The system is designed to function as a self-directed research assistant rather than a passive tool. Officials say this approach dramatically reduces the time required for complex scientific work. Tasks that previously took researchers a full day can now be completed in about an hour.
Nearly 100 scientific workflows are currently supported. These span key areas such as materials science, biotechnology, and industrial artificial intelligence. The focus is on accelerating discovery by automating routine but computationally intensive research processes.
Powered by a nationwide supercomputing backbone
At the core of the project is China’s National Supercomputing Network, known as SCNet. This high-speed digital backbone links more than 30 supercomputing centers across the country, allowing computing power to be pooled and allocated on demand.
SCNet was first launched in 2023 as part of a broader effort to integrate supercomputing and intelligent computing resources at a national level. The platform was officially unveiled in the Binhai Hi-Tech Zone in Tianjin in April 2024. Since then, it has expanded rapidly, connecting computing centers that serve government agencies, enterprises, universities, and research institutions.
By giving AI direct access to this infrastructure, China has moved beyond experimental systems and into large-scale deployment. This approach could significantly reshape how scientific research is conducted nationwide.
A shift in how research is organized
Chinese scientists involved in the project say the platform represents a deeper transformation in scientific work.
“Science is shifting from number crunching to AI-powered discovery. Such new AI agents will connect the tools, data, and computing power scattered across different systems, giving scientists better tools to innovate faster,” Qian Depei, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and head of an SCNet expert panel, told the press conference launching the project.
Others emphasized that the change is both organizational and technical. “AI for Science is not only a technical pathway but also a transformation in how research is organised,” Cao Zhennan, deputy director of the High Performance Computer Research Centre, explained, as reported by South China Morning Post.
The launch follows Beijing’s national “AI+” initiative, announced in August, which explicitly calls for using AI to accelerate scientific discovery and industrial innovation.
Global rivalry and growing security concerns
China’s move comes amid intensifying competition with the United States over AI and advanced computing. For decades, both countries have invested heavily in supercomputers used for sensitive work, including weapons simulations, advanced manufacturing, and drug discovery.
The US response came in November, when President Donald Trump unveiled the Genesis Mission, described as an “AI Manhattan Project.” Led by the Department of Energy, the program aims to train powerful AI agents using federal supercomputers and vast government research data sets.
Trump said the mission would “invest in AI-enabled science to accelerate scientific advancement” and strengthen “America’s technological dominance and global strategic leadership.”
However, the US plan is constrained by strict deadlines, including early demonstrations of capability within 270 days.
China’s early deployment also raises serious risks. Giving AI systems direct control over national supercomputing networks could expose sensitive data, increase the risk of cyber intrusion, or grant AI access to classified information related to weapons systems.