China announced fresh measures on Wednesday aimed at funding technological innovation, as competition with the United States in the tech sector continues to intensify. The country said it would support stock listings for startups operating in what it calls “future industries,” including quantum technology, nuclear fusion, and brain-computer interfaces.
As part of this push, the Shanghai Stock Exchange published new rules designed to make it easier for large-model AI companies to go public on the STAR Market, China’s Nasdaq-style tech board, furthering Beijing’s broader effort to promote the country’s artificial intelligence sector.
The announcement followed remarks from China’s top securities regulator, who pledged that the country would actively embrace the latest phase of technological revolution and industrial transformation. The timing is notable, coming as Wall Street prepares to host major public offerings from SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, underscoring how capital markets on both sides of the Pacific are positioning themselves around the next wave of tech innovation.
Speaking at a forum in Shanghai, Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said a new wave of technological revolution, led by AI, is being integrated into production and daily life at an unprecedented pace, and that major capital markets around the world are accelerating reforms to better adapt to the needs of innovation and gain leading positions.
The push reflects Beijing’s broader strategy of directing capital toward the technology sector, an area that sits at the center of the ongoing rivalry between China and the United States. According to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, supporting listings for companies operating in emerging and future industries identified in China’s next five-year economic plan, such as hydrogen energy, biomedical engineering, and robotics, is considered a major priority. The exchange also plans to support public listings by early-stage large-model AI companies, which typically require substantial capital market backing to sustain long-term, resource-intensive research and development.
The new rules, which took effect immediately, clarify how AI large-model companies can qualify for the STAR Market’s so-called fifth listing standard, a framework specifically designed for firms that hold strategically important technology but have not yet achieved profitability. CSRC Chairman Wu indicated that regulators intend to channel more long-term, patient capital into equity investments that support tech innovation.
This latest move builds on capital-market reforms the CSRC has already pursued to facilitate public listings for innovative tech startups, including AI chip developers and rocket manufacturers. Several Chinese companies, including major memory-chip manufacturers, have already begun benefiting from this regulatory push.