In a policy document released this month, China has signaled its ambition to become a world leader in brain-computer interfaces, the same technology that Elon Musk’s Neuralink and other US startups are developing. Now, China boasts several homegrown BCI companies, and its government is making the development of the technology a priority. China’s foray into BCI research came later, but the country is quickly catching up to the US. Now, its policy document lays out a road map for speeding up the development of these devices. It outlines 17 specific steps, which include creating better chips to capture brain signals, improving software to decode those signals, standardizing BCI technology, and establishing manufacturing capabilities.