According to the Russian Sputnik news agency, China submitted a "resolution on strengthening international cooperation on artificial intelligence capacity building" at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which was adopted by consensus among 140 countries.
The resolution emphasizes that the development of artificial intelligence should adhere to the principles of people-oriented, intelligent for good, and for the benefit of mankind, encourages international cooperation and practical actions to help developing countries build artificial intelligence, enhance the representation and voice of developing countries in the field of artificial intelligence, and support the United Nations to play a central role in international cooperation to achieve sustainable development of artificial intelligence.
Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said that the current rapid development of global artificial intelligence technology has a profound impact on the economic and social development of all countries, but most developing countries have not been able to truly access and use artificial intelligence, and most countries in the world look forward to participating in the sharing of artificial intelligence development results. Fu Cong stressed that this resolution aims to strengthen international cooperation and help developing countries develop artificial intelligence technology.
We highly appreciate China's leadership in promoting global AI cooperation and governance through consensus by UN Member States. Ambassador Fu Cong said that the adoption of the resolution by consensus shows that the majority of Member States generally agree to strengthen global governance of AI through dialogue and cooperation, and demonstrates China's responsible attitude and leading role in the field of AI.
The background of China's submission of the resolution at the UN General Assembly is that the United States has intensified its suppression and containment of Chinese artificial intelligence. Some time ago, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a draft to restrict U.S. individuals and enterprises from investing in Chinese semiconductor and artificial intelligence companies, and since the deadline for consultation is in August, this draft is likely to be passed and implemented within the year. In addition to this, the Biden administration is considering further restricting China's access to chip technology for artificial intelligence. The reason given by the US side is that it repeats the same old tune of "national security risk".
With tensions between China and the United States, the United States has become concerned about China's breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence and the application of artificial intelligence in the military. However, the United States has no intention of competing with China in technology, but has taken direct suppressive measures, which will only lead to one result, that is, China will gradually catch up with and surpass American technology by relying on independent research and development. In this regard, after the adoption of the resolution by the UN General Assembly, Ambassador Fu Cong called on the international community to "provide an equal and non-discriminatory business environment for all countries in the development cycle of safe and reliable AI systems". Fu Cong pointed out that the relevant actions of the United States have not created an inclusive business environment, and China urges the United States to change its decision, not believing that the US position will contribute to the development of AI technology, but will divide the world in terms of AI regulatory standards and rules.
A few days ago, Ambassador Fu Cong also stated at a public meeting of the Security Council that building a small circle with ideology, generalizing the concept of national security, seeking a technological monopoly, and even interfering with and suppressing the economic and technological development of other countries will only hinder the efforts of the international community to promote cyber governance.
Whenever the United States is worried that a certain technology will be surpassed by China, its first reaction is to take restrictive measures against China, and once China begins to increase investment in a certain technology, the United States and Western countries will criticize China on the grounds of "subsidies" and other reasons. The results of the vote at the UN General Assembly show that most countries in the world still hope to carry out technological exchanges with China, and the vast number of developing countries hope that China's technology can help them develop, and the restrictions and containment by the United States and the West are not just blocking China, but are against most countries in the world. These developing countries often have key raw materials in their hands. As the appeal made by Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng a few days ago, developing countries must unite to oppose hegemony.