"We are entering an era when one person can make a film." The newly released AI video generation model Seedance 2.0, developed by Chinese company ByteDance, has once again drawn global tech community's attention to China. With testing results capable of producing cinematic blockbusters in seconds, the model has been hailed by many media outlets as "surpassing OpenAI's Sora 2," "transforming the film and television industry," and marking a "singularity moment" for AI in film and television. The rapid iteration and upgrading of China's AI technologies are a natural outcome of the country's sustained momentum in scientific and technological innovation, while displaying a development logic distinct from technological hegemonism. Behind this progress lie China's unique institutional strengths, vast market foundations, corporate dynamism, and long-term strategic resolve - all of which reflect the country's innovation ecosystem fostered under its strategy of achieving greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology.
When he visited a national information technology innovation park in Beijing on Monday, President Xi Jinping noted that the key in building China into a great modern socialist country is the self-reliance and strength in science and technology. He urged efforts to concentrate strength for major undertakings, pool all quality resources to secure breakthroughs, and move faster to tackle prominent weaknesses, in a bid to achieve the country's strategic objectives. The vitality of China's scientific and technological innovation is rooted in this institutional advantage and in the strategic resolve to pursue greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology. 
In China, the development of AI follows a clear national roadmap. From the call to promote the deep integration of internet, big data and artificial intelligence with other industries, to the release of the Opinions on Further Implementing the "Artificial Intelligence Plus" Action by the State Council, China has consistently placed scientific and technological innovation at the core of its overall national development strategy. Such strategic planning provides solid policy support and clear direction for enterprise innovation, ensuring steady and sustainable progress.
AI is a data-intensive, application-driven technology, and China possesses the world's largest digital user base, rich array of application scenarios, and comprehensive digital infrastructure. Early last year, the release of DeepSeek-R1 sparked heated debate in the US tech community over a "Sputnik moment." This year, the continued breakout success of Seedance 2.0 and similar innovations has gone even further, giving rise to a wave of admiration for China within Silicon Valley. In fact, each new "peak" of China's AI innovation stands atop the "fertile ground" of its digital economy. China has 602 million generative AI users, and its data basic institutional system, centered on the "Twenty Measures on Data," has fully unlocked the advantages of the vast data resources, providing Seedance 2.0 with diverse, high-quality training datasets for AI development. Meanwhile, mobile internet penetration, integrated online-offline commercial networks, and well-developed digital infrastructure enable AI technologies to be rapidly deployed across multiple scenarios such as comics and animation, short-form dramas, and e-commerce advertising, where data feedback and technological optimization are achieved through real-world applications.
The consumption potential of China's over 1.4 billion people is increasingly becoming a powerful driver pushing Chinese tech companies to improve AI technologies. The upcoming Spring Festival of the Year of the Horse is set to be infused with a distinctly "cyber" festive atmosphere brought about by advances in Chinese AI. Ordinary Chinese consumers can try Alibaba's Qwen AI travel assistant, invite the social AI assistant "Yuanbao" into a group chat, or activate Tencent's new AI guardianship feature to  prevent children from becoming addicted to gaming. 
That Seedance 2.0 - with its strong DIY creativity and entertainment appeal - was released ahead of the Spring Festival is therefore hardly surprising. If last year's Spring Festival saw the success of the DeepSeek large model demonstrate to the world a viable low-cost training pathway, then this year's Spring Festival marks the moment when AI in China has been transformed into visible, tangible commercial prospects.
Unlike some countries that engage in technological monopolies in AI development, China's advancements in AI technology not only empower its own economy but also embrace openness and sharing with the world. Notably, the release of Seedance 2.0 was synchronized both domestically and internationally, with the trial homepage available in nine languages, including English, Arabic, German, and Russian, in addition to Chinese. Chinese companies are actively embracing open source, significantly lowering the barriers for global developers and enterprises to access cutting-edge AI technology. 
The rapid development and practical application of AI in China have consistently led to inclusive and groundbreaking technological advancements for the world. The emergence of Seedance 2.0  is a vivid practice of China's development of new quality productive forces and represents another contribution from China to the global development and industrial application of AI.
China's technological innovation thrives through cooperation in openness and enhancement through competition. In core hardware areas such as computing power, China still faces shortcomings and has gaps compared to international top levels. This reality motivates China's technological innovation to move beyond mere technological following into a new stage of independent innovation, integrated innovation, and open innovation. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the AI Plus Initiative would be advanced, and AI is injecting strong momentum into China's modernization with unprecedented power. Seedance 2.0 is not only a snapshot of China's scientific and technological innovation but also a new starting point.
Source: Global Times