AI deal shows China and US can work together on tech regulation despite rivalry, analysts say

The superpowers sign Bletchley Declaration, aimed at managing ‘catastrophic’ risks of the rapidly evolving technology

Artificial intelligence and climate change could become ‘new ballast stones’ to anchor ties between Beijing and Washington, says foreign policy expert

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China’s science and technology vice-minister Wu Zhaohui speaks during the UK Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in England on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 3 Nov 2023Updated: 11:49pm, 3 Nov 2023

China and the United States have signed an international pact on artificial intelligence in a move analysts said could allow them to put aside their differences and work together on regulating AI even as they compete in other areas of technology.

The two superpowers were among 28 countries, plus the European Union, to sign the Bletchley Declaration this week, an agreement aimed at managing the “catastrophic” risks that could arise from the rapidly evolving technology.

The declaration – which focused on challenges posed by “frontier AI” systems – was reached at Bletchley Park, an English estate where Alan Turing and colleagues broke Germany’s Enigma code during World War II. In the 1950s, Turing developed the Turing Test, a deceptively simple method of determining whether a machine can demonstrate human intelligence.

Richard Ghiasy, senior fellow at Leiden University’s Leiden Asia Centre, said the development was “very significant” as it showed the two biggest tech powers had decided to put aside their differences in the global interest.

“AI is simultaneously a constructive and destructive force that does not respect borders so their coordination and cooperation to curb AI risks in critical,” he said.

It was the first international agreement signed by both China and the United States since 2018. Their last deal was an agreement on unregulated fishing in the central Arctic Ocean.

As expectations grow for a Xi-Biden summit this month, Ghiasy said cooperation on AI regulation was “low-hanging fruit” that the two heads of state were likely to discuss.