China has proposed the establishment of a new international organization dedicated to global artificial intelligence (AI) governance and has expressed a commitment to share its AI technologies with other nations, especially in the Global South.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang unveiled the initiative at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, highlighting the fragmented state of global AI governance and arguing for a coordinated framework grounded in consensus. He warned against allowing AI to become “an exclusive game” dominated by a handful of countries or corporations and pledged that China is open to sharing its technological advancements and experience with countries around the world.
In conjunction with the proposed governing body, China’s Foreign Ministry released a detailed AI Governance Action Plan. The plan outlines 13 points of cooperation—including open-source development, joint R&D, international dialogue mechanisms, and cross-border data sharing—designed to facilitate inclusive and equitable governance. China has also announced its willingness to host the headquarters of the new organization in Shanghai.
These steps build on the earlier Global AI Governance Initiative introduced in October 2023 by President Xi Jinping and supported by China’s foreign ministry. The initiative emphasizes a people-centered approach, global cooperation, and strengthened safety standards, while prioritizing the interests and voices of developing countries.
Further reinforcing this commitment, China introduced the AI Capacity‑Building Action Plan for Good and for All. Under this framework, China will offer AI infrastructure support, R&D collaboration, training workshops, and governance tools for developing countries—promising tools, policies, and expertise to narrow the global AI divide.
At the Shanghai conference itself, over 800 companies—including Huawei, Alibaba, Tesla, Amazon, and Google—showcased more than 3,000 AI innovations, reaffirming China’s ambition to lead in the global AI landscape despite ongoing U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips.
China’s proposal arrives amid strategic tension with the United States, which recently unveiled its own AI action plan. While the U.S. seeks to reinforce its leadership via export controls and regulatory alignment with allies, China is positioning itself as a champion of global inclusivity and cooperation in AI.
China’s public commitments include sharing open-source LLMs such as those from DeepSeek and Alibaba, offering participation to academicians and companies across borders, and inviting states to join dialogues on policy and safety risk management. The initiative is aimed at ensuring AI development benefits humanity broadly, rather than being controlled by a select few.
