China calls for new global AI cooperation body

China's Premier Li Qiang said on Saturday that there is a need to coordinate on the development and security of artificial intelligence (AI), proposing to establish an organization that would foster such cooperation.

Speaking at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, Li announced China’s ambitions to help coordinate global efforts to regulate the technology.

He explained how AI innovation is being held back by “bottlenecks” such as the supply of computer chips, and pointed out that a monopoly on the AI market and tough restrictions could lead to the technology becoming “an exclusive game for a few countries and companies”.

Li added that AI development must be weighed against the security risks and called for a global consensus on the matter.

"Overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules," he said.

"We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible," Li explained, adding that China is eager to help create “a world AI co-operation organisation”.

According to Li, China will be open to sharing advances in the development of open-source AI with other countries.

“We are willing to provide more Chinese solutions to the international community and contribute more Chinese wisdom to global artificial intelligence governance,” Li said, highlighting the country’s particular focus on countries in the global south to “make the achievements of AI development better benefit the world”.

This announcement came just days after the White House unveiled its new AI Action Plan to "cement US dominance in artificial intelligence" and win the technological arms race with China.

The US has also introduced strict export rules that require Nvidia to obtain licenses to sell its China-focused AI chip, as it tries to limit China's access to advanced semiconductors.

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) is considered one of the most influential AI events in the world and has been held in Shanghai for seven consecutive years.