（Source：East Asia Forum，2024-09-13）
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference, held in Shanghai in early July 2024, served as an important platform for advancing global AI governance. The ‘Shanghai Declaration on Global AI Governance’, issued
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference, held in Shanghai in early July 2024, served as an important platform for advancing global AI governance. The ‘Shanghai Declaration on Global AI Governance’, issued at the conference, was developed to extend and implement the principles outlined in China’s ‘Global AI Governance Initiative’. The Declaration emphasises the safety and ethics of AI, proposing concrete strategies for multilateral and multi-stakeholder cooperation.
These two documents outline the overarching framework for AI governance. China’s two additional position papers — on ‘Strengthening Ethical Governance of Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘Regulating Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence’ — focus on more specific areas of AI governance such as autonomous weapons. These documents provide a coherent account of China’s approach to AI governance, integrating broad governance principles with targeted policies in key areas.
China’s stance is largely consistent with other international initiatives, such as the Bletchley Declaration, particularly in their shared focus on promoting international cooperation. But China’s initiatives also have unique focuses, emphasising opposition to ideological divisions and respect for each country’s development path and technological rights.
In the realm of global AI governance, China aspires to the complementary roles of a rule developer and solution provider. As a rule developer, China actively participates in various AI governance processes led by the United Nations. In July 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to enhance international cooperation on AI capacity building proposed by China. Chinese experts are also actively involved in the United Nations’ High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, contributing to documents such as ‘Governing AI for Humanity’. China actively contributes to developing AI-related standards through international bodies, such as the International Organization for Standardization.
As a solution provider, China aims to propose global governance solutions with Chinese characteristics. These solutions include establishing a risk-level testing and evaluation system, implementing agile governance, and tiered and category-based management for a rapid and effective response. Documents such as the ‘Global AI Governance Initiative’ provide specific technical standards and operational norms while highlighting the positive role of AI in social welfare, economic development and environmental protection.
But in practice, China faces challenges in developing rules and implementing solutions.
While China can quickly follow the forefront of innovation and achieve scale, its AI sector lacks breakthrough creativity. It is constrained by the financial structure and business models of its tech enterprises. In breakthrough innovation areas such as large language models, China’s foundational breakthroughs lagged behind the United States’ by approximately 10 months.
This deficiency in innovative capacity prevents China from reaching the transformative frontiers of AI innovation — reflected in China’s relatively smaller output of breakthrough AI papers. Despite China’s solid industrial strength in AI, it has not yet fully developed the ability to lead technological transformation and grasp the latest advances in AI technology.
China’s international cooperation also lacks depth and strategic alignment. China has established numerous collaborations, such as cooperating with European countries on autonomous driving technology and serving as Australia’s leading AI research partner. Yet these collaborations are focused on technical research and product application. China has long lagged behind in international mechanism-building and lacks integrated technological alliances and rule-making communities such as NATO and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Though China has proposed effective solutions, its early implementation faces challenges due to a lack of platforms and ideological biases.
Despite these challenges, China has made significant achievements in AI governance, particularly by proposing ways to address global AI governance fragmentation.
China’s macro-guidance approach to domestic governance issues also applies to global AI governance. In the current AI governance landscape — where resource, rule and industrial competition are pervasive — advancing the governance process requires leveraging the roles of authoritative institutions and platforms.
China believes that the United Nations’ global representativeness, multilateral coordination and cooperation mechanisms enable it to address global AI governance’s fragmentation. On such an internationally authoritative platform, governance frameworks can be established through principles and initiatives, allowing various national governance practices and agenda-setting to be integrated. China supports the establishment of a global AI cooperation network within the United Nations to promote cooperation among countries in data sharing, technology exchange and standard setting.
China’s AI governance documents, such as the ‘Shanghai Declaration’ do not limit AI governance cooperation to ‘membership’ or restrict the main lines of AI governance based on its own interests. Instead, it encourages broad international participation and collaboration. This inclusivity means that, while China contributes solutions, it also seeks to collaborate with different countries and stakeholders. This mitigates the risk of governance fragmentation and promotes a more cohesive global approach.
China’s active participation in global AI governance demonstrates its responsibility as a major power and brings wisdom and solutions with Chinese characteristics to global governance. China will continue to strengthen cooperation with the international community, promote the healthy development of AI technology and strive to build a more inclusive and sustainable global AI governance system. In this process, China will adhere to the principles of inclusiveness, cooperation and mutual benefit, and work with all countries to contribute to the common good of human society.
Cuihong Cai is Professor at the Center for American Studies, Fudan University.
