New Delhi, Aug. 17 -- China has given its artificial-intelligence industry two instructions that might seem hard to reconcile: move fast, and stay inside the lines.

Beijing wants AI woven through factories, hospitals, schools, consumer products and government. Its "AI Plus" initiative calls for the penetration rate of new-generation intelligent devices and AI agents to surpass 70% by 2027 and 90% by 2030. Chinese companies are spending heavily to make that happen.

At the same time, China is building one of the world's more elaborate systems for controlling what AI can do.

Rules governing recommendation algorithms took effect in 2022. Deep-synthesis regulations covering technologies such as synthetic voices and faces followed in early 2...