China's Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Action Plan: Emphasizing International Cooperation and Inclusive Development

Strategic Insights -

China's Ambassador to Mozambique, Zheng Xuan, published an article titled 'Making Artificial Intelligence Cooperation a New Driver for China-Africa 'Two-Way Journey'' in the Mozambican newspaper O País on August 13, 2025. The article highlighted the importance of balancing AI development and security, promoting international cooperation in global AI governance, and emphasizing the principles of respecting sovereignty and equitable universal benefit. This move comes as part of China's 'Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Action Plan', which was released in 2025, aiming to promote development and application, ensure safety, controllability, and fairness.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Action Plan emphasizes the need to strike a dynamic balance between AI development and security, making it a common global challenge.
  • The plan aims to promote international cooperation in AI, drawing on valuable practical experience from various countries, and emphasizes the principles of respecting sovereignty and fair and inclusive development.
  • The plan prioritizes the role of the Global South and calls for international cooperation to advance global AI development and governance, contributing to the implementation of the UN Global Digital Compact.
  • China has actively responded to Africa's demands for development in the digital and intelligent sectors, releasing the China-Africa Digital Cooperation and Development Action Plan in 2024, and announcing the joint establishment of a China-Africa Digital Technology Cooperation Center and the development of 20 digital infrastructure and digital transformation demonstration projects in Africa.
  • China has implemented projects for Mozambique, including a government e-government data center, rural telecommunications network coverage, a Fengyun-2 satellite data receiving station, and mobile network modernization, significantly improving Mozambique's network coverage and government digitalization.
  • The Action Plan aims to create an inclusive, open, sustainable, equitable, secure, and reliable digital and intelligent future for all countries, including developing countries, and support the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Statistics:

  • 150,000 kilometers of telecommunications backbone networks have been added and upgraded for African countries by China.
  • 20 digital infrastructure and digital transformation demonstration projects will be developed in Africa as part of the China-Africa Digital Cooperation and Development Action Plan.
  • 26 African countries, including Mozambique, signed the China-Africa Digital Cooperation and Development Action Plan in 2024.

Sources:

  • Zheng Xuan, 'Making Artificial Intelligence Cooperation a New Driver for China-Africa 'Two-Way Journey'', O País, August 13, 2025
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Original Press Release, August 14, 2025
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, 'Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Action Plan', 2025
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, 'China-Africa Digital Cooperation and Development Action Plan', 2024