Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the High-Level Meeting on International Cooperation on Capacity-building on Artificial Intelligence at UN headquarters in New York on September 25, 2024. Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that artificial intelligence (AI) should not be used as a tool to maintain hegemony. 

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at the High-Level Meeting on International Cooperation on Capacity-building on Artificial Intelligence at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday local time. 

He said that China adheres to the development of AI for the good of the people and avoids the ill-use and abuse of AI technology.

During the event, China announced 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, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a routine press conference on Thursday. 

Five visions were proposed on cooperation areas that meet the expectation of all parties, in particular the Global South, namely AI infrastructure, industrial empowerment, personnel training, data development and security governance, according to Lin, adding that the Action Plan identifies 10 actions China will take, including promoting AI and digital infrastructure connectivity and carrying out cooperation in R&D and application of models and language resources, better synergizing AI strategies and strengthening policy exchanges, and actively sharing technical practices.

Since the beginning of this year, China has promoted the adoption of the resolution entitled "Enhancing International Cooperation on Capacity-building of Artificial Intelligence" at the UN General Assembly, and held the 2024 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, and the first Seminar on Capacity Building of Artificial Intelligence, Lin noted. 

"As an important representative of the Global South, China has been acting as a responsible major country in AI governance and has been actively promoting global AI capacity building," Zhang Linghan, an expert from the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI, told the Global Times. 

AI capacity building includes not only the ability to develop AI but also the ability to ensure its safety, Zhang stressed. 

The capacity building should be able to address the shortcomings of various countries in solving security issues related to AI technology, fill the gaps in preventing potential AI safety risks to humanity that may arise from inconsistencies in technological development and differences in safety capabilities among countries, she noted.