Remarks by Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu
At the Opening Ceremony of
The Second Workshop on AI Capacity Building

Tsinghua University, May 12, 2025

Your Excellency Ambassador Milambo,
Respected Secretary Qiu Yong,
Respected Vice Mayor Ma Jun,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,

Good morning. First of all, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the participants attending the second Workshop on AI Capacity Building.

As profound changes unseen in a century accelerate across the world, we face growing deficits in peace, development, security and governance. Emerging technologies represented by AI are developing rapidly, becoming an important driving force for the latest round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. While bringing unprecedented opportunities to people’s work and life, they have also emerged as a major new topic in global governance.

In 2023, President Xi Jinping put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative, contributing China’s proposal and wisdom on this major issue of our times. The Initiative advocates adhering to a people-centered approach in developing AI for good, with the goal of enhancing people’s well-being and serving economic and social progress, while preventing the misuse and malicious use of AI technologies. It calls for the development of trustworthy AI technologies that can be monitored and traced, and constant efforts to improve laws, regulations and rules to ensure that AI remains under human control. The Initiative also emphasizes enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries in global AI governance, ensuring equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for all countries in AI development and governance. The Initiative supports coordination within the U.N. framework to address major issues concerning international AI development, security and governance, and advocates building open, fair and efficient governing mechanisms. The Global AI Governance Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping has pointed the way forward for global AI governance, holding great historical and practical significance.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,

China actively embraces the intelligent transformation, vigorously promotes AI technology innovation, industrial development and AI-empowered applications, and has established and improved regulatory systems and mechanisms for AI. We believe that all countries should uphold the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, jointly implement the Global AI Governance Initiative, and truly make AI an international public good that benefits all. I would like to take this opportunity to share a few thoughts with you.

First, we should stay committed to innovation and openness. AI represents the crystallization of humanity’s collective wisdom, and innovation and openness are the genes and defining feature of its development. DeepSeek, the large-scale AI model developed by a Chinese enterprise, has recently achieved technological breakthroughs. Its open-source nature, low cost and high performance have set a new paradigm for global AI development. China is committed to working with countries around the world to conduct joint research to tackle technological challenges, drive continuous breakthroughs in AI innovation, accelerate the expansion of application scenarios, and unlock greater dividends of intelligence.

Second, we should stay committed to fairness and universal benefit. AI is a common asset of mankind, not a game reserved for the wealthy nations or the rich people. Digital dividends should not become digital hegemony, and the intelligent revolution should not widen the intelligent gap. Countries should jointly foster an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment, help developing countries strengthen capacity building, provide low-threshold services to the vast number of SMEs and the general public, and enhance the accessibility of AI.

Third, we should stay committed to cooperative governance. AI development brings both opportunities and challenges. We should work together to seize the opportunities and address the challenges. The international community should give equal emphasis to development and security, and seek greater alignment and coordination of development strategies, governance rules and technical standards. China stands ready to work with all parties to implement the Global Digital Compacts adopted at the U.N. Summit of the Future, create widely accepted global governance framework, standards and norms under the U.N. auspices, and promote the healthy and orderly development of AI in a beneficial, safe and fair way.

China is a keen advocate, promoter and pioneer in AI capacity building. We have made it a priority to implement the Resolution on Enhancing International Cooperation in Capacity Building of Artificial Intelligence adopted at the U.N. General Assembly, and we appreciate the important contributions made by the countries represented here to the passage of the Resolution. We encourage all parties to support the capacity building of the Global South through policy exchanges, technological support, financial assistance, personnel training and joint research. China has announced the AI Capacity Building Action Plan for Good and for All and proposed five visions and ten major actions, which are important measures taken by China to follow up on the U.N. Resolution. To this end, China and Zambia have jointly initiated the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity Building. Many of your countries are members of the group. We look forward to using this platform to further pool consensus, enhance cooperation and achieve common development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,

Beijing is a historic and cultural city with a history of 3,000 years; it is also one of the birthplaces of China’s AI development. Tsinghua University ranks among the world’s leading AI research and education institutions. To ensure the expected outcomes of this Workshop, we have carefully designed the program and your visits in Beijing. You will have the opportunity to engage with top Chinese experts on AI development and governance, and visit leading AI companies to see exciting AI applications in education, travel, healthcare and people’s daily life.

The participants of this Workshop come from nearly 40 countries and regional organizations, representing a wide range of backgrounds. The U.N. Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies attaches great importance to this event and has sent experts to participate and provide guidance throughout. We sincerely hope that everyone will make the most of the opportunity to explore first-hand China’s AI development and governance experience. At the same time, we encourage you to actively share your countries’ valuable insights, and together promote the in-depth and solid advancement of AI capacity building. We hope that you will bring your feelings and thoughts back home, and share them with your friends and colleagues. We also hope that the Workshop will create more opportunities for practical cooperation on AI between China and other countries, and among all countries.

To conclude, I wish the Workshop a full success.

Thank you.