China's new AI rules: Ethics, AI agents and anthropomorphic AI

July 2026 marked an important milestone in China's artificial intelligence governance. The country introduced three new regulatory developments addressing AI ethics, AI agents and anthropomorphic AI. 

Together, they emphasize a simple principle: AI should assist people, not harm, deceive or exploit them. They also reflect a regulatory shift from broad AI principles toward more detailed, operational and risk-based rules for emerging AI technologies.

In recent years, rapid advances in AI technologies, particularly autonomous AI agents and human-like emotional chatbots, have created tremendous opportunities while introducing new security and societal risks. Since late 2025, open-source AI agent technologies have spread rapidly in China and around the world.

Unlike traditional chatbots that simply generate responses, advanced AI agents can independently plan tasks, use multiple tools and perform actions with limited human intervention. Security research involving open-source AI agent frameworks has highlighted emerging risks, including credential theft, enterprise data leakage and prompt injection attacks that manipulated AI agents into performing unauthorized actions.

At the same time, AI companions, emotional chatbots and digital avatars have grown rapidly. Their increasingly human-like interactions have raised concerns about emotional dependence, manipulation and psychological harm, particularly among minors and older adults. These developments present governance challenges that extend well beyond traditional content moderation and conventional cybersecurity controls.

China's earlier AI regulations, including the Interim Measures for Generative AI Services, focused primarily on content safety, algorithm governance and data protection. They provided only limited guidance on AI ethics, autonomous AI agents and anthropomorphic AI interaction services. 

As AI technologies continued to evolve, those regulatory gaps became increasingly apparent and these three regulatory developments are intended to address them.

Ethics guidelines set a baseline for AI development