China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Responds to AI Replacing Programmers Debate

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a press conference on the "AI + Software" special action plan, where the debate about AI replacing programmers drew attention. Lu Weifeng, vice chairman and secretary-general of the China Software Industry Association, said AI is changing how software is made, and talent skills and job needs are shifting.

In terms of skills, simple coding is becoming less important, while understanding needs, designing systems, and integration matter more. Working with AI is now a basic skill, and people who know both software and industry knowledge are in short supply. New roles like forward-deployed engineers are emerging. For jobs, repetitive coding is increasingly handled by AI tools, existing roles are being restructured, and new positions keep appearing.

Lu noted that new jobs created by technology are not simply replacing old ones one-for-one. Pressure on repetitive basic roles and a shortage of mixed-skilled talent may coexist for a time. Next steps include guiding companies to upgrade with AI while retraining staff, strengthening talent development, and growing new businesses like agent software to expand job opportunities.