China warns against threat narratives and calls for cooperative AI governance
China's foreign ministry said narratives of threat and malicious competition hinder global AI governance, urging open and inclusive development, as US and Chinese officials prepare for talks on AI regulation.
China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters that narratives of threat, confrontation and malicious competition "serve only to disrupt the process of global AI governance and are not in anyone's interest". He added that all parties should work together to advance AI in an open, inclusive and beneficial manner.
The comments come amid heightened US-China rivalry over artificial intelligence, with US officials emphasizing the need to stay ahead of Beijing while Chinese leaders stress the importance of balancing development with security. State security minister Chen Yixin said China must improve laws and ethical guidelines to safeguard national interests and warned that hostile foreign intelligence could exploit AI.
Experts note that cooperation between the two leading AI powers is unlikely, citing core national security concerns. Nonetheless, both sides are expected to discuss AI at upcoming high-level meetings, including a planned White House visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping and talks between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng.
In the United States, industry leaders such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI chief Sam Altman have called for a slowdown and stronger safety measures, while former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warned of existential risks if development continues unchecked. President Donald Trump, however, reiterated that maintaining a US lead in AI is a priority, stating that "whoever wins AI, wins".
China recently launched the World AI Cooperation Organisation and, at the BRICS summit, Xi proposed a community for open-source AI, signaling Beijing's interest in shaping global AI governance.