BEIJING — Senior Chinese officials on Wednesday emphasized Beijing’s commitment to sharing artificial intelligence globally and safely, underscoring the diverging approaches between the U.S. and China regarding emerging technology standards.
“China is accelerating the establishment of a global AI cooperation organization, and welcomes all parties to join,” Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, told reporters in Mandarin Chinese, according to a CNBC translation. He emphasized that AI should serve humanity’s needs.
Wang spoke during the release of China’s global governance whitepaper, which criticized trade wars and reaffirmed support for the Global South — a designation encompassing developing economies beyond traditional U.S. and European influence.
Wang’s remarks coincided with increased U.S. efforts to restrict foreign access to leading American AI models. During the G7 summit in France this week, the bloc of wealthy nations — including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan — discussed providing “trusted partners” access to U.S. AI technologies, according to Reuters, citing three diplomatic sources. CNBC could not independently verify the report and contacted the White House for comment.
U.S. AI models typically operate on subscription-based models, whereas China has prioritized affordable or free AI platforms that can be readily downloaded and deployed.
Speaking alongside Wang, Zhao Haibing, vice chair of China’s top economic agency, pushed back against “closed, exclusive and monopolistic approaches to technology development.”
Instead, Zhao highlighted China’s deepening international AI collaboration through BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, multilateral bodies that include Russia, Iran, and other partner nations originally formed around security cooperation.
Zhao also underscored China’s “AI Capacity Building for All” initiative, support for UN-led global AI governance, and efforts to assist developing countries with technological infrastructure and talent development.
The U.S. and China both announced last month that they would collaborate on AI guardrails, though details remain limited.
Over the past year, Beijing has introduced sweeping proposals for global cooperation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the “Global Governance Initiative” at a China-hosted Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting last summer.
Shortly thereafter, Premier Li Qiang announced at an annual AI conference in Shanghai that the Chinese government had proposed establishing a global AI cooperation organization — just weeks after the Trump administration revealed an AI action plan supporting U.S. technology development internationally.
