China issues action plan for global AI governance
China on Saturday issued an action plan for global artificial intelligence (AI) governance, inviting governments, international organizations, enterprises and research institutions to work together and promote international exchanges, including through a cross-border open-source community. The action plan reflects China's commitment to advocating for AI global governance which not only responds to the realistic challenges of global technological competition, but also demonstrates China's responsibility as a responsible major country to actively promote AI for good, promote fair development and safeguard multilateralism, analysts said.
The same day, the Chinese government proposed the creation of a global AI cooperation organization, the Xinhua News Agency reported. This is an important measure for China to uphold multilateralism and promote global governance through consultation, joint construction and shared benefits, according to an official readout sent to the Global Times.
It represents China's practical response to the call of the Global South, aiming to bridge the digital and intelligent divide, and promote the development of AI for good and inclusive development. The Chinese government is tentatively considering establishing its headquarters in Shanghai, Xinhua has learned from sources involved in the matter.
The 2025 World AI Conference (WAIC 2025) & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance is being held in Shanghai from July 26-28, centered around the theme of "Global Solidarity in the AI Era." The three-day event has drawn over 1,200 industry leaders, government officials, researchers and investors from 30 countries.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday said the Chinese government is proposing the creation of a global AI cooperation organization, Xinhua reported. "China attaches great importance to global AI governance, and has been actively promoting multilateral and bilateral cooperation with a willingness to offer more Chinese solutions," Li said in his address at the opening ceremony of the annual event.
These proposals by China have sparked heated discussions among industry players from all over the world, who agree that China is now not only a primary engine of global AI innovation, but also an indispensable architect of global AI development and governance.
"China is actively fostering efforts to bridge the digital divide with an open and cooperative approach, injecting certainty into global AI governance," Song Yizhe, co-director of the University of Surrey's Institute for People-Centered AI, the UK's leading AI research center, told the Global Times at the conference.
China has not only reached the forefront of AI, but is also seeking win-win cooperation with other countries, Song said, adding that AI is an important tool for building a better world. China has not only taken a leading position in AI, but also hopes to share technology with countries that lack computing power and talent, but who are eager to develop independent large AI models. At present, while some other countries' AI development plans focus on technical competition and cooperation, China has put the development of AI "on people," with the aims of delivering real gains to people all over the world.
Gábor Prószéky, director general of the Hungarian Research Center for Linguistics in Budapest told the Global Times that he had an overriding impression after touring China's latest AI models at the WAIC 2025 and he also called for global cooperation. "It's vital that we met you here - I can feel the genuine openness of our Chinese partners," he said.
While some Western media outlets have cast the Shanghai AI conference as the latest battlefield in an AI arms race, Prószéky said "rivalry may feel inevitable today, we need to cooperate. The atmosphere is complicated, yet international companies are here talking face-to-face. WAIC has brought together voices from Asia, Europe and Africa, he said.
Some Western media outlets attempted to cast China's AI action plan from a China-US competition perspective.
A CNBC report highlighted that the action plan from China came days after the US administration announced an American action plan for AI. "China clearly wants to stick to the multilateral approach while the US wants to build its own camp, very much targeting the rise of China in the field of AI," the CNBC report said, citing an expert, saying that "the two camps are now being formed."
Refuting voices that claim the Chinese proposal could accelerate the polarization of the global AI landscape, a Chinese expert said that the race between China and the US is less a duel of technologies than a contest of visions: whose development path resonates with the rest of the world? The idea of promoting technology inclusion through open source is in line with the world development trend and it is contributing to narrowing the technological gap.
Experts believe that AI should not be a tool for geopolitical competition, but a tool for global collaboration. In the complex and changing international situation, open dialogue and mechanism building are the key to opening the way to co-construction.
Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt backed the idea of global collaboration, saying the US and China should work together to maintain stability and ensure human control over powerful AI systems.
AI global governance
China has consistently advocated an open and cooperative approach to AI governance, with an emphasis on inclusivity and shared progress.
Since unveiling the Global AI Governance Initiative in October 2023, China has advocated that countries put equal emphasis on development and security.
In September 2024, China introduced the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All. This plan outlined key areas for collaboration, including infrastructure development, industrial empowerment, talent training, data management and security governance.
Liang Zheng, a professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University told the Global Times on Sunday that the action plan from China emphasizes creating an open and cooperative environment for the development of AI, which includes both innovation and open source of the domestic ecosystem and calls for win-win international cooperation.
"This action allows more developing countries and small- and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the wave of AI innovation. It is not only openness at the technical level, but also a fair sharing of development opportunities," Liang added.
Experts believe that China's latest proposals on AI serve as important measures for the nation to adhere to the practice of multilateralism and promote global governance of consultation, joint construction and sharing. It is also a practical action for China to respond to the call of the global South, help bridge the digital and intelligent divide, and promote the development of AI for good and inclusive development.