At the end of October, the "Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" proposed to proactively lay out future industries, promoting quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communications to become new economic growth points. These industries are poised to take off, and in the next 10 years, they will recreate another high-tech industry in China.
These six major future industries represent the forefront of global technological competition. Among them, brain-computer interfaces, as a key direction of disruptive technology and future industries, have seen their strategic importance highlighted in the five-year plan. This is no longer a sci-fi concept but a new industrial blueprint supported by national strategy.
Brain-Computer Interface
Brain-computer interface is a direct information exchange channel established between the human brain and a computer or other electronic devices. The technical approaches are divided into invasive (requiring surgical implantation of electrodes) and non-invasive (such as signal acquisition through an EEG cap).
Its strategic positioning is to explore the ultimate frontier of life sciences, initially focusing onHealthcareRehabilitation is the main breakthrough (such as helping paralyzed patients regain movement and communication abilities), while in the long term, it may profoundly change human-computer interaction methods, and even enhance human cognitive abilities.
| Industry Chain and Representative Enterprises
Upstream - Information Collection and Sensing: Flexible electrodes, high-precision EEG acquisition chips, sensing materials.
Electrodes and Sensors:
Invasive Electrodes: NeuroXess (Minimally Invasive Electrodes in China), Neuralink (USA)
Non-invasive head-worn devices: NeuroSky (USA), BrainCo (StrongBrain Technology)
Chip and Module:
Main Control Chip: Texas Instruments (USA), STMicroelectronics (Europe)
Dedicated BCI Chip: NeuroXess, Ningju Technology (self-developed chips)
Wireless Transmission Chips: Broadcom Integration, Telink (BLE chips)
Algorithm and Software Platform:
Signal Processing Algorithm: Huawei, Tencent (underlying algorithm support)
Operating System: ThunderSoft (Embedded System)
Midstream - Signal Processing and Decoding: EEG signal denoising, feature extraction, intention decoding algorithms and models.
Invasive Systems:
Neuralink (USA), Synchron (Minimally Invasive Intervention, USA)
NeuroXess (Implantable System in China)
Non-invasive Devices:
Medical-Grade EEG Devices: Neuracle, Yunrui Intelligence
Consumer-grade headband: BrainCo (focused on education, rehabilitation)
Research and Customization Platform:
g.tec (Austria), NeuroScan (USA)
China Electric Cloud Brain (China-produced Research Platform)
Downstream - Application Systems and Services: Medical rehabilitation equipment, intelligent prosthetics, education and training systems, entertainment interactive devices.
Healthcare (Core Field):
Neurorehabilitation: Xiangyu Medical (Rehabilitation Equipment), Chengyitong (Treatment Systems)
Brain Disease Diagnosis and Treatment: Innovative Healthcare, Sanbo Brain (Surgery and Clinical)
Consumption and Entertainment:
Game Interaction: Century Huatong, Tom Cat (Brain-Controlled Game Development)
Smart Wearables: Jiahe Intelligent (EEG Headphones)
Industry and Special Fields:
Industrial Control: Hanwei Technology (Sensor Integration)
Military Defense: iFlytek (Brain-Controlled Unmanned Systems)
In addition, in the field of brain-computer interfaces, some cities in China have already launched fierce strategic layouts based on their own foundations and forward-looking vision.
| Beijing
Beijing Takes the Lead in Issuing the "Action Plan for Accelerating the Innovative Development of Brain-Computer Interface in Beijing (2025-2030)" at the Beginning of 2025, Clarifying the Path for Technological Research and Industrial Development, and Aiming to Build a Complete System from Innovation Source to Industrial Agglomeration.
At the technology research and development level, top clinical hospitals such as Tiantan Hospital and Xuanwu Hospital have collaborated with universities like Tsinghua University and Peking University, taking a leading position in the clinical research and application of invasive brain-computer interfaces. The "Beijing Brain One" system, developed by the Beijing Institute of Brain Science and Brain-like Intelligence, is an internationally leading high-throughput semi-invasive wireless fully implantable brain-computer system. Its integrated flexible high-density cortical electrode channels have reached 128, setting a world record. The system has successfully completed multiple human implant surgeries, helping paralyzed patients achieve mind-controlled robotic arms and enabling speech-impaired patients to regain their ability to communicate in Chinese.
In terms of industrial ecosystem development, Beijing is constructing a "one core, one city" industrial cluster in Changping District. A 240,000-square-meter characteristic industrial park has been put into use, attracting more than 20 full-industrial-chain innovative enterprises. Meanwhile, Beijing has established a special incubation fund with a scale of 300 million yuan and formed an industrial innovation organization to collaboratively promote technology transfer and standardization.
丨Shanghai
According to the "Shanghai Brain-Computer Interface Future Industry Cultivation Action Plan (2025-2030)", Shanghai has set clear development goals: By 2027, achieve "high-quality brain control", promote more than 5 invasive or semi-invasive brain-computer interface products to complete clinical trials, help patients with aphasia and paralysis restore partial language and motor functions, and introduce and foster more than 5 core innovative enterprises and more than 10 key enterprises in the industrial chain. By 2030, the plan aims to achieve "high-quality mind control", enabling brain-computer interface products to fully enter clinical applications, helping blind patients partially restore visual ability, and providing new treatment options for brain diseases such as epilepsy and depression.
Huashan Hospital and Fudan University have strong capabilities in basic brain science research and the treatment of neurological diseases.
The ultra-flexible minimally invasive implantable brain-computer interface system developed by Shanghai-based Step Medical features electrodes that are only 1/100 the size of a hair strand. It has successfully completed a prospective clinical trial in which amputees controlled a computer cursor with their "brain signals." Another company, NeuroXess, has also achieved "brain control" of smart devices and "mind-based communication" using its 256-channel high-throughput implantable flexible brain-computer interface. These breakthroughs provide an important "Shanghai solution" for invasive brain-computer interfaces.
丨Hangzhou
Hangzhou boasts top-tier scientific research power, such as the National Key Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence at Zhejiang University. The release of "Wukong," a new generation of neuromorphic brain-like computer, marks that China has reached an internationally advanced level in the field of brain-like computing.
Zhejiang University Team Achieves Multiple Groundbreaking Results in Invasive Brain-Computer Interface Animal and Clinical Experiments, Such as Enabling Monkeys to Control Robotic Arms with Brain Signals.
In terms of clinical and applied transformation, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital has established a clinical research ward for brain-computer interface and neuromodulation, applying brain-computer interface technology to the treatment and rehabilitation of various diseases such as spinal cord injury and stroke, promoting cutting-edge technology from laboratory to clinical application. Notably, Zhejiang Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau has incorporated brain-computer interface into the medical insurance system in 2025, providing policy and payment guarantees for the widespread application of the technology.
