The release of the “AI Capacity Building and Inclusiveness Plan" came on the heels of a UN resolution to strengthen international cooperation on AI tabled by China and a “core group” of partner states — and it positioned China as an alternative to the industry’s current leader, the United States.
In his speech on the plan, Wang emphasized that AI should be an inclusive and accessible technology. This was a not-so-subtle jab at the US, whose restrictions on high-tech exports have frequently been characterized in Chinese state media as a means not just to target the PRC but to assert its dominance over all other nations. “AI should not become a tool for maintaining hegemony or seeking advantages,” Wang said.