China called for upholding fairness, inclusivity, and collaborative governance in artificial intelligence as the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance kicked off in Geneva on Monday, with Beijing pledging concrete actions to bridge the digital divide and support Global South countries in the AI era.

Leading the Chinese delegation, Li Lecheng, China's minister of industry and information technology, said in his opening remarks that AI is a common asset of humanity, and that developing countries' rights to develop and use the technology must be firmly safeguarded.

He proposed three priorities: ensuring fair and inclusive development by deepening AI applications in healthcare, education, industry, agriculture, and poverty alleviation; fostering innovation-driven cooperation through open-source sharing and cross-border flow of knowledge and talent; and strengthening collaborative governance by balancing development and security, and ensuring effective participation of all nations — especially developing ones — in global rule-making.

"China is ready to work with all parties to promote fair and inclusive development, actively assist countries in developing AI technologies and services, and jointly build a governance framework with broad consensus," Li said.

The two-day dialogue, established by the UN General Assembly, opened at the Palexpo International Convention Centre with over 4,000 delegates from more than 170 governments, tech firms, academia, and civil society.

On the sidelines, China has been translating its proposals into action. Together with Zambia, it co-launched the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity Building, and has continuously organized training workshops while supporting the ITU's AI application case collections for three consecutive years.

Over the next five years, China will conduct 200 training programs on digital economy and AI for Global South countries, aiming to help all nations share in the smart era's dividends, Li said.