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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

China’s UN envoy calls for ‘forward-looking’ AI research and regulation as global tech race intensifies

  • At top advisory body meeting, Chinese UN ambassador Zhang Jun says Beijing should increase investment and promote rules for artificial intelligence
  • Citing rival US as a cautionary tale, he says many aspects of the technology are controlled ‘at the corporate level’ rather than by governments

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An AI chip is displayed during the World Semiconductor Congress in Nanjing in July. China hopes artificial intelligence will advance its economic development, according to Beijing’s annual work report. Photo: AFP
Zhao Ziwenin Beijing

China should make more efforts in “forward-looking” artificial intelligence research as the technology has become a major focus of global power competition, a senior Chinese diplomat said.

Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said Beijing should also promote the development of AI regulation as the cutting-edge technology “still has a lot of uncertainty”.
Zhang made the remarks on Tuesday at a panel discussion with other senior top diplomats during the annual session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top advisory body.
The comments come amid fresh anxiety over the US-China tech rivalry, which has intensified following the frenzy over OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video model last month.

He called on China to strengthen in-depth research in the AI field and increase coordination and investment while improving the conditions for the technology’s development.

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