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Significance and Pathways of Promoting AI Development Cooperation Between China and Other Global South Countries

A cal revolution and industrial transformation，hasprofoundlychanged the wayhumans produce and live. The Communist Party of China （CPC） and the Chinese government attach great importance to AI development and haveimprovedtop-level designand strengthened implementation efforts in recent years，driving a holistic and systematic advancement of China's comprehensive AI strength. In contrast，many other Global South countries， due to limitations in technology， capital， and material resources， lag farbehind developed countries in AI development， further widening the global intelligence divide. On April 25， 2025， the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held its 2Oth collective study session on strengthening the development and regulation of AI. During the session， noting that AI can serve as a global public good that benefits humanity， General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that it is importanttocarry out extensive international cooperation on AI， help Global South countries strengthen their technological capacity building， and make contributions to bridging the global AI divide. These important remarks made by General Secretary Xi Jinping notonly expound the significance of promotingAI development cooperationbetween ChinaandotherGlobal South countries，but also point out the pathways for futureefforts.

AIDEVELOPMENTCOOPERATIONBETWEENCHINAANDOTHERGLOBALSOUTHCOUNTRIESCONFORMSTOTHETRENDOFTHETIMES

Foralong time，a fewdeveloped countrieshavereliedontheirdomestic tech giants and through technological monopolies and standard barriersto form“digitalhegemony\"， thus excluding most developing countries from the core circlesof AI development and global governance.In essence， AIdevelopment cooperationbetweenChinaandother GlobalSouthcountriesisahistorical breakthrough by emerging countries againsttheWestern technological mo nopoly. By jointly building an opensource technology ecosystem and collaboratively formulating cross-borderdataflowrules，theGlobal South is breaking through the monopoly ofafewdeveloped countrieson core algorithms and computing power infrastructure and embedding the demands of developing countries into the global AI governance framework. Thisprocessof technological multipolarizationwillnotonlybreakthe “digitalhegemony\"，butalsoensure “leaving no one behind\" as committed bytheUnitedNations2030Agenda forSustainable Development. Taking the cross-border AI computing power sharing network led by China asan example，itsdistributedarchitecture enables Southeast Asian countries to access intelligent computing resources at low cost， thus rewriting the traditional innovation landscape dominatedbydeveloped countries and reshaping it into a distributed， multi-nodemodel.If theGlobal South collectively transforms from passive recipientsoftechnicalrulestojoint formulators，theinternationalorder willaccelerateitsevolutiontobefairer and morejust.

The South-South cooperation on AI is injecting practical connotations of thedigital erainto theconceptof acommunitywithasharedfuture formankind.Thetraditionalmodel of technical assistance essentially involved packaging and transferring ready-made technologies to develop ing countries. While this “giving a mana fish\"approachcould address short-termneeds，ittendedtofoster long-termdependency.In thenewera，China'sinternational development cooperationplacesgreater emphasis on“teachinga man to fish\"—the two sides no longer confine themselves to thesimple transferoftechnical products，but work together in the entire processof technological Ramp;D.Under sucha cooperation model，China providesabasictechnicalframework， integrates it with the localized practical needsand data resources of its developing partners，and continuously optimizes technical solutions through continuous interaction. Thisapproach notonlyensurestheadvancement of core technologies but also enables technologies to adapt to the develop mentrealitiesofdifferentregions， achieving a paradigmupgrade in technicalassistancemodels.Intermsof rule-building，ChinaandotherGlobal Southcountriescanformulatedata sovereignty frameworksthrough consultation， jointly establishalgorithm transparencyevaluationsystems， andpromotetheimplementationof regional cross-border data flowagreements，soastoenablecompliantsharing of global public goods such as climatemonitoringandbiodiversity conservation.Thisapproach，which breaksdown development barriers through technological mutual trust and promotescivilization coexistence through digital inclusion，marks the substantiveadvancementof\"adigital

communitywithasharedfuture”and alignswiththegeneral trend of global politicalcivilizationdevelopment.

CHINA'SACHIEVEMENTSINAI ACCORDWITHTHEDEVELOPMENT NEEDSOFOTHERGLOBALSOUTH COUNTRIES

Atpresent， Global South countries haveenormousdemandsforAItechnologies. For one thing，pillar industries such as agriculture，mining， and textiles generally face problems like lowproduction efficiencyand insufficientmomentum forindustrial valueadded growth，makingintelligent upgradingoftraditional industriesa common appeal.Against this backdrop，Global South countriesexpect to accelerate the deployment of key technologies such as the Internet of Things （IoT）perception systems， industrial big data platforms，and intelligentprediction models，soasto empowerindustrialtransformation byreconfiguring competitive edges. Foranother，amid rapid urbanization， Global South countries generally suffer from structural challenges includingunbalanced distributionof medical resources，unequal access to education，andweakdisasteremergencyresponse capabilities.China's long-term technical practices and experienceaccumulatedinsmarthealthcare，educational informationization， and disaster prevention and control provide feasiblepathwaysforcooperation with its Global South peers.

China's comprehensive capacities in AI create multi-dimensional conditions for cooperation with the Global South. In terms of hardware supply， relying on the world's leading electronic information manufacturing clusters， China has formed a complete industrial chain，ranging from AI chip design and sensor manufacturing to intelligent terminal assembly. This has created a virtuous cycle of scale advantages and technological innovation. Notable breakthroughs have been made in core technologies in areas such as integrated circuits， large-scale application of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System，AI terminals， and new display technologies. This production capacity can not only boost the Ramp;D of high-end computing power equipment， but also provide customized solutions tailored to the needs of Global South countries. In terms of technical application， China's technical experience based on its enormous market is of significant reference， especially in smart cities and industrial internet. By adressing technical challenges in complex scenarios such as high population density， diversified industrial forms， and unbalanced regional development， China has developed a complete implementation pathway from data governance to algorithm optimization and then to system deployment. This experience offers direct reference for Global South countries eager to rid of traditional development models. In terms of institutional innovation， China's“government-regulated + market-driven”collaborative model demonstrates unique advantages. As this approach balances strategic orientation and market laws， it provides a more feasible institutional reference for technological late-comers to balancetechnologyintroduction and independent development.

AIDEVELOPMENTCOOPERATIONBETWEENCHINAANDOTHERGLOBAL SOUTH COUNTRIESFACESCHALLENGES

Asacore field in global technologicalcompetition，AIhasbecome animportantfocusforGlobalSouth countriesto deepen cooperationand reshape the international technologicallandscape.However， China and otherGlobal South countriesstill face multiple challenges in AI developmentcooperation in aspectssuchas technology，governance， and geopolitics，which requires systematic coordinationand breakthroughs.

First，insufficient technical capabilitiesand a shortage of talent.Firstly， Global South countries generally sufferfrom weak digital infrastructure Manyof themhave inadequatecomputerperformance，limitednetwork bandwidth，andrelativelybackward data center infrastructures， making it difficult to meet the requirements ofAI applications for massive data storageand efficientprocessing.The infrastructure shortage means that most Global South countries lack the high-performance computing clusters needed to support AI development，severely limiting their ability toparticipate in AI research，development，and applications.Secondly， Global South countries have multiple external dependencies in core technologies. Although China has made breakthroughsin AI algorithms and applications in recent years，itisstill constrainedbytheU.S.andWestern countries in basic fields including high-end chips， computing equipment，andindustrialsoftware.China hasyet to form large-scale production capabilities in some key AI technologiessuch as specialized AI chips and high-precision sensors， rendering its underlying technology ecosystem vulnerableto fluctuationsininternational supplychains.Thirdly，there isashortage of top AI talent in Global South countries. This is partly due to the systematic lag of the education systems in the nations of the Global South and partly due to the brain drain into developed countries.In lessdeveloped countries in Africa，Latin America， andAsia，educationalresourcesfor science， technology，engineering，and mathematics （STEM） at the primary educationstage are severely scarce. Rural schools generally lack laboratoryequipment，computers，andinternet facilities.Teachershave insufficient interdisciplinary teaching capabilities. Thismakes it very difficult to improve students'researchskills.Atthesame time，according to a report by the U.S. thinktankMacroPolo，thereisanobvious concentration of top global AI talent. The U.S.，with itssound scientific research environment and generous remunerations，ishometo 60% of the world'stopAI Ramp;D institutionsand hasattracted 77% of non-U.S. top talentstostayandworkintheU.S.，drainingtheleadingtalentsof theGlobal South.

Second，disparate governance pathwaysandfragmentedrules.AI governance in the Global South shows deepening fragmentation，asisreflected inthe enormousdisparities in regulatoryframeworksandthelack of consensus on value concepts.In nature，thisstemsfromthestructural problems of imbalanced technologicalpowerdistributionandinsufficient governance capabilities of developing countries.China has currently issued multiplepolicydocuments，such as Guiding Principles for the GovernanceofNew-GenerationArtificial Intelligence：Developing Responsible AIand theInterimMeasuresforthe Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services，basically forming an AI governance system covering multiple dimensions including ethical principles， laws and regulations， and regulatory systems.However， AI governance in most Global South countries remains in the legislative exploration stage， creating a gap in governance systems.Although regional organizationsliketheAfrican Union （AU）and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations（ASEAN） have introduced documents such as AU's Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics，many of the provisions directly apply the standards oftheEuropeanUnionortheUnited States，lacking localized innovation. Furthermore，culturalandvalue differences among countries make governance cooperationmore difficult.

Third，external interventionsand geopolitical risks.The external risks facedbyChinaandotherGlobal South countriesin AIcooperation mainly fall in two categories： technological “supply disruption” and geopolitical “hedging interventions\"， which together pose cooperation barriersand add to the complexity of global technological power games. ThedependenceoftheGlobalSouth on external core technologies has provideda leveragefordeveloped countries such as the U.S. to implement“supply disruptions\".TheU.S. hasrestricted the exportofadvanced chipsto China through the CHIPS andScienceActand joinedalliesin enforcing“long-arm jurisdiction\" oversemiconductorequipment， designtools，andothersectors.Such measures notonlyconstrain the technological upgrading of China's domesticAIenterprises，butalsoaffect cooperation projects in the Global South due to spillover effects on the industrialchain. TheU.S.hascontinuouslypressured other Global South countries to reduce or terminate cooperation with Chinese enterprises， forcing them to“take sides”in AI cooperation.In 2023， the U.S.and India signed the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies （iCET）， committing to close cooperation in AI and otherfields.Thishas inrealityturned India into a testing ground for technological “decoupling”from China. In 2024， the U.S. pressured G42， the largest AI company in the United Arab Emirates， to terminate its cooperationwithChinaand enterinto a technical cooperation agreement with the U.S.-based Microsoft. By distorting technological cooperation intoa tool for bloc confrontation and attempting to maintain its hegemony through a“digital iron curtain\"，theU.S.has impaired the solidarity of the Global SouthandfurtherdividedAIcollaborationwithin the Global South.

MAINPATHWAYSFORBOOSTINGAIDEVELOPMENTCOOPERATIONBETWEENCHINAANDOTHERGLOBALSOUTHCOUNTRIES

As a responsible major country， Chinaactively promotesAI developmentcooperationwithotherGlobal South countries， buildsamulti-dimensionalcollaborativedevelopment framework，andsharesthedividends ofAI development.To boosttheAI developmentofotherGlobal South countriesand narrow the intelligence divide， China can focus onmechanism building，industrial collaboration， and talent cultivation to further deepen AI development cooperationwith other Global South countries.

First，building and strengtheningmechanismsformultilateral exchange， cooperation， and knowledge sharing. Firstly， international public goods in AI should be provided and actions to help Global South countries to benefit equally from AI development should be hailed. Committed to bridging the intelligence divide， China is working to strengthen AI rules governance within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nationsand the G2O，establish AI ministerial meeting mechanisms，and solidly promote the implementation of its proposals including the Global AIGovernance Initiative， Shanghai Declaration on Global AI Governance， and the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and forAll. China encourages all parties to enhance coordination on key issues such as development strategies， governance rules， technical standards，and ethical principles， so as to enhance political mutual trust， reduce policy differences， and build international consensus. Secondly， the diversity of world civilizations must be fully respected and dialogue networks on technical ethics and multiculturalism be expanded. On the basis of mutual respect and equal treatment， China respects different historical and cultural traditions， core interest demands，and identity concerns of Global South countries， aswell as their preferences for AI technical ethics and multicultural narratives. China has taken concrete actions to address differentiated concerns such as algorithmic discrimination concerns of African countries and data sovereigntyissues facing Latin American countries. Thirdly， AI intellectual property and technology sharing platforms should be established to create an inclusive global technology ecosystem and ensure responsible technology flow and fair utilization of data resources. Global or regional organizations such as the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity BuildingandtheWorldAIConferenceamp; High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance shouldbe fullyleveraged asplatforms for exchanges and communication. Timelyassistance should beprovided to the Global South in building AI infrastructure， promoting Ramp;D of AI models， and constructing application corpora.Meanwhile，attention should also be paid to security and privacy protection in crossborderdata flows，andasecurityrisk classification and supervision system throughout the full life cycle of AI should be improvedto ensure that AI issafe，reliable，andcontrollable.

Second， expanding the value cocreation network for industrial collaborative development in key areas. Firstly，Chinacanworkwithother Global South countries in seting up scienceand technologycentersand innovation parksto accelerate the digital and intelligent transformationof enterprises.Measuresneed to be taken to encourage leading tech enterprises in China and other Global South countries to jointly build AI industry incubators. This will not only provide legal consultation， technical support， and capital docking services forsettled enterprises，butalso create new jobsanddrivethehigh-efficient development of local intelligent economy.Efforts also need to be taken to encourage various enterprises to enhance their technological capabilities and accelerate the popular application of AI technologies. Secondly， international cooperation in AI industry supply chains needs to be deepened. In light of the localized needs of Global South countries， \"AI+\" models can be promoted to empower multiple industriesand release the dividendsof AI as a new productive force. Some instancesare as follows： First，“BeiDou + Agriculture”precision and smart productionmodelscan be applied inBrazil，Ethiopia，Southeast Asiaand other regions. These models， by monitoring in real-time crop growth environments， pest conditions，and meteorological changes， can achieve precise sowing，fertilization， and irrigation， optimize crop resource allocation，and improve agricultural production efficiency and product quality. Second， China can assist regions like Africa and Latin America in building a fullcycle digital medical system covering prevention， diagnosis， treatment and rehabilitation. The two sides can jointly develop AI-asssted diagnosis platforms and infectious disease monitoring and early warning systems to realize remote diagnosis and early disease screening. Third， leveraging South Africa's strengths in FinTech and India's advantages in information technology service， China， South Africa and India can work together to expand inclusive finance and digital trade networks， build transnational digital currency settlement systems， and promote digital identity authentication and electronic invoice mutual recognition mechanisms. These efforts will strengthen industrial chain coordination and regional economic development among countries in the Global South. Fourth， China can offer integrated hardware-software technical solutions to help energy exporters like Saudi Arabia and Egypt develop \"AI + Energy\" industrial development models to explore the integrated development ofhigh-tech industries and energy industries and achieve efficient energy extraction， management， and utilization.

Third，building an integrated AI talent joint training system with the participation of governments， industries，universitiesandresearch institutions.Firstly，transnational educationplatformscanbeestablished to enhance the digital proficiency of talents in the Global South. Moving faster to implement the outcomes of theUNFutureSummit，China，based ontheexperienceofLuban Workshops，can encourage institutions ofhigher education and vocational schools to cooperatewithitsBelt and Road Initiative（BRI） partner countries，BRICS members and partner states in running schools，and jointly building colleges of AI application technologyandAI laboratories.These measureswill strengthen AI capacity building in Global South countries and improve the digital proficiency of local talents. Secondly， an industryeducation-integrated technology incubationnetworkcanbeestablishedand AI joint training basesbebuilt.China canworkwith itsleading tech enterprisessuch asHuawei，Tencent and Inspur to provide computing power equipment，algorithmframeworks， simplified toolkitsand technical trainingsupport for AI Ramp;D inGlobal South countries.In thisprocess，local teamswill beresponsible for data collection and scenario adaptation to carry out joint research on large models. In line with the development needsof industriesoflocal featuresin the Global South，localized AI applicationprojectscanbe jointly developed to help students find diverse practice opportunities， broaden horizons，and further enhance professional skills and overall capabilities. The process of mutual recognition of international qualificationsforprofessional and technical personnel should be graduallyimproved to formaclosedlooptalentjoint trainingsystem of teaching， training and certification. Thirdly， the two-way flowmechanism forAI talentsneedstobe improved tofacilitatetalentflowchannels.“MutualEmploymentPlan forChiefAI Scientists\"， “Digital Silk Road Young Scholars Program”and “Algorithm Engineers in Enterprises Program\" canbelaunchedandthe\"South-South AISpecial Scholarship”can be added. AI capacity building seminars should be continuously held. Chinese scholars should be encouraged to enter partneruniversitiesinotherGlobal South countries to carry out regionand nation-based studies， and young talentsfromotherGlobal South nations should be invited to participate in Ramp;D programs in leading Chinese universitiesandenterprises.Thevisa approval processforAI talentsneeds to besimplified andapilot“white list” system forkeycountriesand regions canbeintroducedto promote the cross-border flow ofAI talents.

In the era of rapid AI development， the cooperation between China and other Global South countries not only conforms to the historical trend of technological transformation， but also reflects the common aspirations of developing countries for independent development， technological security， and fair governance. China has accumulated rich experience in AI basic research， engineering applications，and industrial ecology，and possessed the resources and capacity needed to promote international cooperation. Other countriesin the Global South，on the other hand， boast vast application scenarios， strong development needs， and enormous digital potential. The synergy between the two sides is expected to unleash new momentum for the mutually beneficial South-South cooperation. Looking into the future， following the example of cooperation between China and other Global South countries， the international community should build multi-level and sustainable AI cooperation mechanisms with a more open and inclusive concept， to turn project cooperation into strategic coordination and upgrade technological empowerment to capacity building. Such efforts will contribute to international cooperation in AI capacity building， equip countries with intellectual wings for collaborative development， and actively advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind