Flags of the United States and China seen on the day of bilateral talks between the United States and China in Geneva, Switzerland, May 10, 2025.
Keystone/eda/martial Trezzini | via Reuters
BEIJING – Chinese officials on Wednesday highlighted Beijing’s plans to securely share artificial intelligence around the world, the latest sign of how the United States and China are pursuing different approaches to the technology.
“China is accelerating the establishment of a global AI cooperation organization and welcomes all parties to participate,” China’s top diplomat Wang Yi told reporters in Mandarin, according to a translation by CNBC. He emphasized that technology should respond to human needs.
Wang was speaking at the launch of China’s Global Governance White Paper, which criticized trade wars and emphasized support for the Global South. This category broadly refers to developing countries, especially those outside the orbit of the United States and Europe.
Wang’s comments come as the United States ramps up efforts to restrict foreign access to key American-developed AI models.
Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing three diplomatic sources, that at a summit in France this week, the seven wealthy nations – the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan – discussed plans to give “trusted partners” access to US AI models. CNBC could not independently confirm this report and has contacted the White House for comment.
U.S. AI models also tend to be subscription-only, while Chinese efforts focus on cheap or free AI models that are often fully downloadable.
Zhao Haibing, vice chairman of China’s top economic body, spoke alongside Wang on Wednesday and advocated a “closed, exclusive and monopolistic approach to technology development.”
Instead, Zhao highlighted China’s efforts to deepen international AI cooperation through the BRICs and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an annual gathering of countries including Russia and Iran that initially focused on security.
Zhao also pointed to China’s “Building AI Capacity for All” initiative, support for the United Nations to lead global AI governance, and efforts to support developing countries with technology and talent.
The United States and China separately announced last month that they would work on AI guardrails, but few details were released.
Over the past 12 months, the Chinese government has made sweeping proposals for global cooperation.
Late last summer, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a “global governance concept” at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization conference hosted by China.
A few weeks ago, at the annual AI conference in Shanghai, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced that the Chinese government proposed establishing a global AI cooperation organization. Lee’s remarks came days after the Trump administration announced an AI action plan that includes support for U.S. technology development overseas.
