BEIJING: China proposed the AI+ International Cooperation Initiative at a high-level meeting on the Global Development Initiative on Tuesday. Chinese experts said that China regards AI as a universal public good for the global community.
“On behalf of the Chinese government, I wish to use this opportunity to put forward a new AI+ International Cooperation Initiative. We warmly welcome participation from all sides,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in a speech at the high-level meeting on the Global Development Initiative in New York.
In line with the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, the initiative urges promotional efforts to deeply integrate AI into economic and social development to benefit all countries, including the Global South, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
AI represents not only a technological upgrade, but also a systematic and comprehensive transformation with profound implications. According to the initiative, it also plays a vital role in advancing the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the report says. Zeng Yi, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of the Center for Long-term AI and a member of the UN High-level Advisory Body on AI, told the Global Times on Wednesday that AI has become a crucial enabling technology for scientific, technological and economic development, serving as the infrastructure to advance and realize the global sustainable development agenda. The core vision of the initiative has always been to advance the vision of a shared future for humanity as its goal and responsibility.
In detail, the initiative calls on all countries to proactively carry out AI+ campaigns in public well-being, technological advancement, industrial application, cultural prosperity and talent cultivation according to each country’s conditions, enhance policy exchange and practical cooperation, and share best practices and solutions on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit.
Among the five campaigns, the “AI+ public well-being” calls for harnessing AI to enhance public services and provide solutions to issues concerning people’s livelihoods. The “AI+ industrial application,” among others, urges cooperation to keep industrial and supply chains stable, foster a steady stream of innovations, and release more AI-enabled dividends, and the “AI+ cultural prosperity” supports the use of AI to maintain and promote the traditional cultures of all countries.
“In this era of rapid technological iteration, no single country can unilaterally steer the direction of AI development, nor can any nation bear the consequences of technological fragmentation,” experts from department of informatization and industry develop of State Information Center wrote in the China Economic Times.
The “AI+” global cooperation initiative proposed by China is not only vital for its own technological progress and industrial upgrading but will also promote the widespread and inclusive application of AI worldwide. It provides a practical pathway to address the global AI divide and improve governance systems, experts stressed.
Zeng told the Global Times that only when technology fully enables development, prosperity and mutual learning can it achieve truly inclusive growth that leaves no country or individual behind.
Zeng said that China’s AI development and inclusivity are built on data, models, computing power, networks and security governance, and this allows China to contribute AI as a universal public good to the global community.
In terms of data, China has amassed over 35,000 high-quality datasets with a total volume exceeding 400 petabytes, serving as a foundational driver for AI development. Regarding models, Chinese enterprises and research institutions have released several globally influential and widely adopted foundational open-source AI models, such as DeepSeek. These efforts provide developing countries with more cost-effective and accessible solutions.
In the realm of computing power, China’s total computing capacity ranks second globally, and it contributes to international standardization in this field, offering computing services to users worldwide. As for network infrastructure and connectivity, China’s overseas communication network construction has greatly expanded, Zeng noted.
Previously, China also proposed the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All.
The Action Plan is aimed at bridging the AI divide and promoting the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Five visions were proposed on cooperation areas that meet the expectations of all parties, in particular the Global South. These are AI infrastructure, industrial empowerment, personnel training, digital development and security governance, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
