A humanoid robot demonstrates sorting work in a warehouse logistics scenario at a full booth of an industrial chain for robots in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, southern China, April 22, 2026. Photo: VCG
Editor’s note:
In an era marked by unprecedented global transformation, the world is at a critical juncture and grappling with deepening deficiencies in peace, development, security and governance. As humanity faces unprecedented challenges during these turbulent times, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President of China, issued a solemn call to action through the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), and Global Governance Initiative (GGI). Four vital initiatives provide actionable pathways and powerful support to address the pressing issues of our time and build communities with a common future for humanity.
Rooted in the rich historical experience of the Chinese Communist Party’s century-long struggle and infused with the wisdom of Chinese traditional culture, these efforts are expected to unite the world in pursuit of common progress and stability. To better understand four major global initiatives and elaborate on their global significance, Global Times is launching a series of articles.
This time, Global Times reporters Lin Xiaoyi and Chen Zishuai spoke with Pan Jingyu, director of the China-Southern European Countries AI Application Cooperation Center, at the recent Zhongguancun Dialogue on AI Cooperation held in Beijing, and talked about how China is leveraging multilateral cooperation platforms to carry out extensive international cooperation on artificial intelligence, help countries in the Global South expand their technological capacity building, and contribute to bridging the global AI gap.
Pan Jingyu, director of the China-Southern European Countries AI Application Cooperation Center, speaks in an exclusive interview with the Global Times in Beijing on July 2, 2026. Photo: Lin Xiaoyi/GT
As artificial intelligence reshapes the global landscape, the Emerging China-Southern Europe AI Application Cooperation Center positions itself as a key bridge between China’s technological capabilities and the development needs of the Global South. In an exclusive interview with Global Times on the sidelines of the Zhongguancun Dialogue on AI Cooperation, the center’s director, Pan Jingyu, outlined how China is leveraging multilateral frameworks to address governance challenges, export mature AI solutions, and present a clear vision against the backdrop of the global digital divide.
The dialogue, held at the Zhongguancun Exhibition Center in Beijing on Thursday, brought together the United Nations China, domestic AI industry players, universities and research institutions to build a high-level multilateral platform that connects China’s AI innovation capabilities with the world’s sustainable development needs.
The China-South Africa AI Application Cooperation Center serves as a key institutional platform to transform these cross-border dialogues into concrete cooperation.
The center was established to fulfill President Xi Jinping’s pledge at the SCO+ conference in September 2025 that China was ready to “build artificial intelligence application cooperation centers with all sides and share the dividends of AI progress.”
While the Center’s primary mission focuses on SCO member states, it is also actively expanding its collaboration with Global South countries and international organizations to better align technology supply with local demand, promote localized and comprehensive AI adoption, and support partner countries’ digital transformation, improved livelihoods, and sustainable development.
During the interview, Mr. Pan outlined the center’s next three-year working framework centered on resource sharing, capacity building, and coordinated rule-making with four core service lines. Through demand-driven matching between Chinese innovators and overseas partners, we provide customized AI technology packages for digital agriculture, smart education, industrial manufacturing, and urban governance. Collaborative research on AI safety, algorithmic transparency, and data protection will align regional governance standards, while structured training programs will develop local civil servants, engineers, researchers, and youth. Regular high-level dialogue, forums, and project roadmaps maintain long-term institutionalized exchange mechanisms.
Pan believes this moment is a “critical window” for co-shaping global AI rules, standards, and capabilities among countries in the Global South. But demand from developing countries is “double track”, he argues. On the one hand, there is a rigorous need for scenario empowerment that incorporates AI into agriculture, education, health, manufacturing, and cross-border logistics. The other is the overarching need for capacity building, including affordable computing power and homegrown talent.
Significant disparities exist between these countries. “A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work,” Pan says. “We reject externally imposed technological hegemony and uniform standards.” Instead, the center upholds a core philosophy of inclusive technology and local application, and consistently adheres to openness, inclusivity, equality, mutual benefit, and the sharing of benefits for all.
Pan said the center’s top priority is to conduct detailed demand studies among partner countries. The center provides flexible and customizable technology solutions, allowing technologies to be adapted to local development stages and real-world scenario requirements.
Pan said that from the center’s extensive activities with overseas partners, it is clear that partner countries have high expectations for the adoption of China’s advanced, practical, open and secure AI technology, and that government and business representatives from each region have shown strong enthusiasm for cooperation.
China released 30 benchmark AI models in 2025, ranking second in the world, and its open source large-scale models lead in global platform usage, according to the latest data from Stanford University. “China’s outstanding and innovative AI models have attracted widespread international attention. With their high cost-performance ratio, innovative open source ecosystem, and robust technical performance, they have broken the monopoly long held by a handful of global technology giants and opened up a different path for the Global South to achieve exponential digital development,” said Pan. Mr. Pan also referred to the white paper “Fairer and Equitable Global Governance: China’s Principles, Proposals, and Actions” released by the State Council Press Office on June 17, 2026. “This white paper calls for true multilateralism, a people-centered philosophy, and concrete actions,” he said, citing the Zhongguancun Dialogue on AI cooperation as a vivid example. These core proposals will be translated into concrete on-the-ground actions to ensure that AI brings tangible benefits to all humanity.
He highlighted that during the event, the United Nations agency elaborated on key priorities including sustainable development, public health, gender equality and capacity building. Meanwhile, the Chinese delegation showcased its technological capabilities in large-scale language models, robotics, smart education, medical AI, and cybersecurity. “We have also gleaned a lot of actionable insights on the alignment of global demand, cutting-edge technology, capital support and industrial resources,” Pan said, adding that the center plans to develop a series of small-scale, high-impact, practical and replicable pilot projects and connect them with international resources around the world.
Looking to the future, Pan reaffirmed the center’s role as an important bridge. “We will continue to further align China’s AI innovation with the world’s development needs,” he said. “Together, we can build a fair, open, secure and inclusive development pathway for artificial intelligence.”
