At the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China put forward a proposal to develop a globally coordinated approach to AI governance. Premier Li Qiang outlined a vision for international collaboration that emphasizes shared rules, open development, and equitable access to AI tools.
Without a shared approach, Li warns that the development of AI could become fragmented and uneven in terms of access and oversight.
The timing is notable.
The proposal comes shortly after the U.S. released its own AI strategy, which adopts a more domestically focused, deregulation-first approach.
With both countries investing heavily in AI and asserting leadership roles, these parallel announcements underscore growing differences in how each country believes AI should be managed and shared internationally.
Why It Matters: As AI becomes more integrated into global systems, the policies guiding its development and use are gaining urgency. Differing national strategies affect technological competition as well as shape the ethical, legal, and economic frameworks that will define AI’s global impact.
- China’s Global Governance Pitch Focuses on Inclusivity and Stability: Premier Li’s speech called for a governance model rooted in cooperation, where global standards are built through consensus rather than competition. He specifically highlighted the importance of sharing AI capabilities with developing countries and warned against technological monopolies that could concentrate power and opportunity in too few hands.
- U.S. Strategy Centers on Speed, Innovation, and Market Freedom: The Trump administration’s newly released AI action plan emphasizes reduced regulation to support faster innovation and industrial competitiveness. The document positions the U.S. private sector as central to national AI leadership, prioritizing domestic control and flexible oversight over formal international frameworks.
- Semiconductors Remain a Key Point of Leverage in AI Trade Relations: Advanced AI depends on access to high-performance chips which are currently only available to a handful of companies. Ongoing export restrictions from the U.S. and supply limitations have become bargaining tools in broader trade negotiations, as seen in recent mutual concessions involving Nvidia chips and Chinese regulatory investigations.
- China’s AI Industry Demonstrates Growing Capabilities and Efficiency: Backed by a mix of state funding and private innovation, China’s AI sector is progressing quickly. New models from firms like DeepSeek and Moonshot are competing with major U.S. offerings at a fraction of the cost, suggesting that China’s ecosystem is catching up in sophistication and becoming more cost-effective.
- Industry Leaders Call for Balanced Oversight and International Dialogue: Speakers at WAIC emphasized the risks of developing AI in silos. Concerns about misinformation, bias, deepfakes, and security vulnerabilities are shared across borders, reinforcing the argument that some level of international coordination is necessary.
Go Deeper -> China pitches global AI governance group as the US goes it alone – CNN
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