China, West need to cooperate on setting global AI governing standards
Conceptual diagram of AI Photo: VCGEditor's Note:As China expands its role in global AI innovation, questions are growing over how new technologies can benefit developing countries and how international cooperation can keep the global AI ecosystem open, inclusive and interoperable. Sam Daws, senior advisor to the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative at the University of Oxford, founding director of Multilateral AI, and former First Officer to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, spoke with the Global Times about China's contribution to AI capacity-building and governance, as well as the scope for China-West cooperation on AI safety and standards.GT: AI, robotics and innovative medicine are becoming increasingly prominent areas of innovation in China. What does this reveal about China's evolving role in global innovation, and what opportunities could it create for other countries?Daws: China has invested significantly in innovation in these new technologies, with the result that it is now the global leader in embodied AI applications in manufacturing and robotics. The diffusion of these technologies outside China has the potential both to lower the cost for developing countries and to help create interoperable standards, so that a robot in one country works seamlessly with an algorithm from another country.The new World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (an independent intergovernmental organization established in Shanghai in July 2026 to promote global AI cooperation and governance) can contribute to international capacity-building, embodied AI standard-setting and AI adoption, and help the UN achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.GT: You previously noted that China's affordable, open-source and full-stack AI solutions could help developing countries bridge the digital divide. Where do you see the greatest potential for Chinese AI to make advanced technologies more accessible and responsive to different languages, cultures and local needs?Daws: At the World AI Conference in Shanghai in July 2026, China stressed that AI development should respect and preserve the cultural uniqueness of different countries. This is vital if we are to ensure that AI deployment increases understanding across civilizations and proves useful across very different cultural contexts, from Albania to Zimbabwe.To achieve this, China's open-source AI approach can provide the foundation on which algorithms, datasets and applications are optimized to support local contexts, whether that is education in Southeast Asia or agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Universities and AI companies in China can work together to help preserve linguistic, cultural and civilizational diversity while supporting common international governance standards.China can partner with regional initiatives such as the pan-African Masakhane, while also contributing to the development of global standards and best practices through UN bodies such as UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), to ensure interoperable international approaches to preserving cultural and linguistic diversity.GT: China has called for stronger international AI capacity-building. What would such cooperation mean for developing countries seeking more equal access to technology?Daws: Capacity-building for developing countries is essential if they are not to be left behind in the AI revolution. Capacity-building will be most successful when it seeks to do three things. First, it should be coordinated with international partners to maximize effectiveness, including through national-level support to developing countries by the ITU, UNIDO, UNDP and UNESCO. Second, it should be targeted at priorities set by individual governments in areas such as food security, health and medicine, smart cities and the delivery of digital government services. Third, it should be optimized for local contexts, cultures and languages.China has a particular contribution to make through its leadership in low-cost, open-source AI and its advances in embodied AI for manufacturing and smart cities.
