Nine departments including the Ministry of Commerce issue opinions on invigorating commerce through science and technology

On October 13, 2026, nine departments including the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Invigoration of Commerce through Science and Technology," proposing to raise the level of application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, blockchain, digital twins, and embodied intelligence, and to promote the intelligent, green, and integrated development of the entire commerce chain. On October 19, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the opinions. At the conference, Zhou Hanping, a first-level inspector of the Industry Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has selected and established 14 projects to carry out "AI + culture and tourism" application pilots, in order to accumulate experience and promote the nationwide implementation of pilot results; the "15th Five-Year Plan for Culture and Tourism Development" and the "15th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Industry Development" clearly set out the key task of "promoting technology-enabled culture and tourism development." The same-day press conference also proposed using technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital twins to optimize IP research, design, and development in fields such as culture, tourism, sports, guochao, and historical classic industries, and to promote cross-sector integration. Regarding the issuing body and timing, earlier reports said that nine departments including the Ministry of Commerce issued the opinions on October 13, while subsequent reports said the nine departments issued them on October 19; the two accounts are inconsistent. The opinions have currently been issued, and pilot projects in the culture and tourism field have been selected and established.