Chinese tech heavyweights and startups alike are scrambling to answer the country's call for greater investment in core artificial intelligence technology, after the government rolled out a national plan seeking to lead the world in AI research and application. Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlytek Co Ltd, China's biggest voice recognition company by market share, said the plan, unveiled by the State Council on Thursday, drew a clear path for AI's development in China.

"It attaches high importance to scientific research, and called for more efforts to build an open AI system which can help us attract and cultivate talent," Liu said. The company has been devoting 25 percent of its annual revenue into R&D for five years.

"We will beef up resources to help China gain a lead in AI research," Liu added