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CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Op-ed: Silicon Valley is dictating U.S. AI policy. It's a mistake that will benefit China
While humanoid robots sparred in the ring at China's World AI Conference in Shanghai, a more consequential contest played out just steps away. Chinese officials unveiled plans for a new global governance body — the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO) — aimed at setting international standards and norms around artificial intelligence. Framed as a bid to prevent monopolies and foster inclusivity, the move was also a clear shot across Washington's bow: a declaration that China intends not just to compete in AI, but to define its rules and global architecture. That same week, the United States released its own high-level vision: Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan. Spearheaded by AI czar David Sacks, the plan outlines a sweeping, three-pillared strategy focused on accelerating innovation, building infrastructure, and leading in international AI diplomacy. It is a good start — a robust and ambitious document — but it still reflects a fragmented and uneven approach. What is becoming clear is that the race for global AI leadership will be won not only by those who develop the most powerful models, but by those who can deploy them when and where they matter most. China's practical, application-first approach — deploying open-source AI to improve agriculture, logistics, education, public health, and other public services — makes its model especially attractive to countries seeking early, visible gains. Its export of utility and digital infrastructure — including power grids and smart city platforms in bundles like Huawei's compact "AI-in-a-box" systems — is enabling even low-resource nations such as Kenya, Thailand, and Egypt to scale AI applications without the need for expensive hyperscale data centers. To be clear, China's approach is not without risk to its users. Its AI systems often come bundled with surveillance tools, opaque financing, and long-term strategic dependencies. But for many global south countries, these are acceptable trade-offs for tangible benefits. Beijing is meeting rising demand for AI access at cost, at scale, and at speed. In doing so, it is turning AI access into a powerful instrument of soft power, one that fuses technological exports with influence over digital norms, governance preferences, and strategic alignment. By contrast, the U.S. approach remains overly anchored in Silicon Valley's commercial interests. American firms continue to lead in foundational models and generative AI, but the strategy often fails to connect technological excellence with global deployment or development impact. Without an accessible, adaptable model that serves diverse needs, the U.S. risks ceding the AI frontier to China by default. With "Winning the Race AI Action Plan" now on the table, even with its imperfections, that may be starting to change. Its pillars — innovation, infrastructure, and diplomacy — signal Washington's recognition that AI leadership demands more than cutting-edge research. It requires trusted systems, trusted rules, and trusted partnerships. President Trump's high-profile visit to the Middle East in May reflected this growing awareness. Gulf states pledged to import up to 500,000 Nvidia chips annually and build new AI data campuses in the UAE. While these deals remain largely commercial and defense-driven, they underscore rising U.S. acknowledgment of AI's geopolitical heft, especially in regions where China has moved quickly to shape the terrain. At the inaugural APEC Digital and AI Ministerial in Incheon, South Korea, U.S. officials took a further step, joining regional counterparts to discuss responsible AI standards, cross-border data governance, and inclusive digital development. Modest in scope but meaningful in signal, it showed a willingness to engage the multilateral arenas where China has been setting the pace. But more engagement is needed. Once the domain of technical consensus, international standards bodies have quietly become battlegrounds, where norms on everything from algorithmic transparency to facial recognition are contested. China has moved swiftly to embed its preferred frameworks, language, and values into these technical settings. If Washington remains absent or reactive, it risks inheriting a global AI order built on someone else's blueprint. The private sector is beginning to respond as well. This week, OpenAI released its first truly open model, a departure from its proprietary stance and a subtle nod to global demand for AI systems that are transparent, customizable, and adaptable. The headline was safety. The subtext was competitiveness: a need to align more closely with what the rest of the world increasingly wants. None of these actions will matter without the infrastructure to back them up. AI runs not just on compute and capital, but on electricity, water, and bandwidth. Training large models can draw immense energy and consume millions of gallons of potable water. For countries facing climate stress and infrastructure constraints, these demands are not just high, they are prohibitive. They will determine who can realistically adopt AI and who gets left behind. China is positioning itself to answer that call. From East Africa to Southeast Asia, Beijing is helping countries think differently about AI access, reframing AI as a utility, embedding it into national systems, and shaping political alignment in the process. Beijing's model appeals to countries pursuing "sovereign AI" — an emerging desire to build national control over algorithms, data flows, and digital infrastructure. With flexible, bundled solutions, China is offering governments not just access to AI, but ownership over how it's deployed and governed. Washington, by contrast, has yet to articulate a compelling answer for nations that want AI on their own terms — not just on Silicon Valley's. Washington and Silicon Valley must understand that winning the AI race means more than winning at home. The competition is global, and the global test is not who reaches artificial general intelligence (AGI) first. It is increasingly about who delivers AI that actually works for the many, not just the few. Most of the world will not judge the United States by its breakthroughs in autonomous reasoning. They will judge it by whether its systems solve real problems — health, education, transport, climate — and do so affordably, reliably, and equitably. This is the true arena of AI influence. The coming decade will reveal not just who leads in AI, but who earns the world's trust to lead with it. —
The Star
01-08-2025
- Business
- The Star
China prepares to unseat US in fight for AI market
While humanoid robots faced off in a boxing ring at China's flagship artificial intelligence conference in Shanghai, a fight in the US-China tech war was fought in suits nearby over who gets to set the rules in the AI age. China's answer is a new global organisation to convene countries to foster safe and inclusive use of the powerful new technology. At the annual World AI Conference over the weekend, Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned of AI "monopoly' and instead called on foreign officials in the room – mostly from developing countries – to cooperate on governance. The new group, known as the World AI Cooperation Organization, embodies China's plan to jostle with the US for sway by positioning itself as a champion of AI for all. More favourable rules may give a global boost to Chinese companies competing with US firms to sell hardware and services in a market estimated to hit US$4.8 trillion (RM20.53 trillion) by 2033. For many of the countries represented at the conference, Chinese firms already offer competitive solutions, even if the US dominates the supply of cutting-edge AI chips. "The Chinese are coming to the table with a very different AI product mix that is going to be extremely appealing to lower-income countries that lack the computing and power infrastructure needed for large-scale implementation of OpenAI-like AI systems,' said Eric Olander of the China-Global South Project. Using technology as both carrot and calling card, Beijing's approach appears to take a page out of its earlier Digital Silk Road initiative, which put Chinese companies at the centre of telecommunications networks spanning continents. China for years has strived to define the global parameters for emerging technologies such as 5G, seeking to influence development and set the stage for its companies to win market share abroad. Huawei Technologies Co's prominent role in standard-setting groups became the subject of scrutiny of the US government when it cracked down on the use of its equipment. Global AI governance has emerged as a new battleground for the world's leading powers, both seeing the technology as critical not just for their economy but national security. President Donald Trump declared last week that his country will "do whatever it takes' to lead in AI, with his plan for actions including countering Chinese influence in international governance bodies. While there are no binding global rules for AI development, China's action plan calls for building more digital infrastructure that uses clean power and unifying computing power standards. The country also said it supports the role of businesses in creating technical standards in security, industry and ethics. Details about the Chinese body, to be headquartered in Shanghai, are scarce. In brief public remarks before media were ushered out of the room, a Chinese Foreign Ministry senior official, Ma Zhaoxu, said the organization would work to establish standards and governance frameworks. China would discuss details with those countries that are willing to join, he added. As US and Chinese companies race to develop systems that could match or even surpassed human intelligence, safety concerns have also prompted calls for guardrails. AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, who spoke at the Chinese event, expressed support for international bodies to collaborate on safety issues. Part of Beijing's AI strategy appears to come from its diplomatic playbook, which urges support for Global South countries to step up in international affairs. In his address to kick off the Saturday event, Li emphasised helping those nations develop AI. These countries made up most of more than 30 nations that were invited to the high-level governance talks, including Ethiopia, Cuba, Bangladesh, Russia and Pakistan. A handful of European countries including the Netherlands, France and Germany, the EU and several international organizations were also represented. No nameplate for the US was seen by Bloomberg News. The US Embassy in Beijing declined to comment on any official presence. Achmad Adhitya, special adviser to Indonesia's vice president who attended the meeting, told Bloomberg News that China's initiative is "very appreciated by the Indonesian government.' His country is preparing AI curricula to be rolled out across 400,000 schools and is training 60,000 teachers about the tech, he said. Beijing's emphasis on openness – a word used 15 times in its governance action plan – appears to ride on the success of Deepseek earlier this year. The AI upstart stunned the world not just by releasing AI models that are almost as capable as those of OpenAI but also made them freely available for anyone to download and customize for free. A succession of Chinese companies has done the same, with companies from incumbent giants like Alibaba and newcomers like Moonshot releasing cutting-edge large language models that are similarly open-weight. That accessibility may be especially important to developing countries who may not have the resources to gather vast datasets and train their own AI models from scratch, a process that would involve expensive chips made by companies such as Nvidia Corp. China also emphasises Internet sovereignty, something that may appeal to more autocratic regimes around the world. "We should respect other countries' national sovereignty and strictly abide by their laws when providing them with AI products and services,' according to the country's Global AI Governance Initiative issued in 2023. In contrast, Trump's AI plan vows that the US government will only work with engineers who "ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias.' The US-China rivalry presents a familiar dilemma for countries that may feel pressured to choose a side, but Solly Malatsi, minister of communications and digital technologies of South Africa, rejects the binary choice. "It's not a case of one model over the other,' Malatsi said from the conference. "It's about an integration of the best of both worlds.' – Bloomberg
Straits Times
01-08-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
China prepares to unseat US in fight for AI market
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned of AI 'monopoly' and instead called on foreign officials in the room to cooperate on governance. BEIJING – While humanoid robots faced off in a boxing ring at China's flagship artificial intelligence conference in Shanghai, a fight in the US-China tech war was fought in suits nearby over who gets to set the rules in the AI age. China's answer is a new global organisation to convene countries to foster safe and inclusive use of the powerful new technology. At the annual World AI Conference over the weekend, Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned of AI 'monopoly' and instead called on foreign officials in the room – mostly from developing countries – to cooperate on governance. The new group, known as the World AI Cooperation Organization, embodies China's plan to jostle with the US for sway by positioning itself as a champion of AI for all. More favourable rules may give a global boost to Chinese companies competing with US firms to sell hardware and services in a market estimated to hit US$4.8 trillion (S$6.2 trillion) by 2033. For many of the countries represented at the conference, Chinese firms already offer competitive solutions, even if the US dominates the supply of cutting-edge AI chips. 'The Chinese are coming to the table with a very different AI product mix that is going to be extremely appealing to lower-income countries that lack the computing and power infrastructure needed for large-scale implementation of OpenAI-like AI systems,' said Mr Eric Olander of the China-Global South Project. Using technology as both carrot and calling card, Beijing's approach appears to take a page out of its earlier Digital Silk Road initiative, which put Chinese companies at the center of telecommunications networks spanning continents. China for years has strived to define the global parameters for emerging technologies such as 5G, seeking to influence development and set the stage for its companies to win market share abroad. Huawei Technologies' prominent role in standard-setting groups became the subject of scrutiny of the US government when it cracked down on the use of its equipment. Global AI governance has emerged as a new battleground for the world's leading powers, both seeing the technology as critical not just for their economy but national security. President Donald Trump declared last week that his country will 'do whatever it takes' to lead in AI, with his plan for actions including countering Chinese influence in international governance bodies. While there are no binding global rules for AI development, China's action plan calls for building more digital infrastructure that uses clean power and unifying computing power standards. The country also said it supports the role of businesses in creating technical standards in security, industry and ethics. Details about the Chinese body, to be headquartered in Shanghai, are scarce. In brief public remarks before media were ushered out of the room, a Chinese Foreign Ministry senior official, Mr Ma Zhaoxu, said the organisation would work to establish standards and governance frameworks. China would discuss details with those countries that are willing to join, he added. As US and Chinese companies race to develop systems that could match or even surpassed human intelligence, safety concerns have also prompted calls for guardrails. AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, who spoke at the Chinese event, expressed support for international bodies to collaborate on safety issues. Part of Beijing's AI strategy appears to come from its diplomatic playbook, which urges support for Global South countries to step up in international affairs. In his address to kick off the Saturday event, Mr Li emphasised helping those nations develop AI. These countries made up most of more than 30 nations that were invited to the high-level governance talks, including Ethiopia, Cuba, Bangladesh, Russia and Pakistan. A handful of European countries including the Netherlands, France and Germany, the EU and several international organisations were also represented. No nameplate for the US was seen by Bloomberg News. The US Embassy in Beijing declined to comment on any official presence. Dr Achmad Adh itya, special adviser to Indonesia's vice-president who attended the meeting, told Bloomberg News that China's initiative is 'very appreciated by the Indonesian government.' His country is preparing AI curricula to be rolled out across 400,000 schools and is training 60,000 teachers about the tech, he said. Beijing's emphasis on openness – a word used 15 times in its governance action plan – appears to ride on the success of Deepseek earlier this year. The AI upstart stunned the world not just by releasing AI models that are almost as capable as those of OpenAI but also made them freely available for anyone to download and customise for free. A succession of Chinese companies has done the same, with companies from incumbent giants like Alibaba and newcomers like Moonshot releasing cutting-edge large language models that are similarly open-weight. That accessibility may be especially important to developing countries who may not have the resources to gather vast datasets and train their own AI models from scratch, a process that would involve expensive chips made by companies such as Nvidia Corp. China also emphasises internet sovereignty, something that may appeal to more autocratic regimes around the world. 'We should respect other countries' national sovereignty and strictly abide by their laws when providing them with AI products and services,' according to the country's Global AI Governance Initiative issued in 2023. In contrast, Mr Trump's AI plan vows that the US government will only work with engineers who 'ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias'. The US-China rivalry presents a familiar dilemma for countries that may feel pressured to choose a side, but Solly Malatsi, minister of communications and digital technologies of South Africa, rejects the binary choice. 'It's not a case of one model over the other,' Mr Malatsi said from the conference. 'It's about an integration of the best of both worlds.' BLOOMBERG
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Business Standard
30-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
China launches global AI body to rival US in $4.8 trillion tech race
While humanoid robots faced off in a boxing ring at China's flagship artificial intelligence conference in Shanghai, a fight in the US-China tech war was fought in suits nearby over who gets to set the rules in the AI age. China's answer is a new global organization to convene countries to foster safe and inclusive use of the powerful new technology. At the annual World AI Conference over the weekend, Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned of AI 'monopoly' and instead called on foreign officials in the room — mostly from developing countries — to cooperate on governance. The new group, known as the World AI Cooperation Organization, embodies China's plan to jostle with the US for sway by positioning itself as a champion of AI for all. More favorable rules may give a global boost to Chinese companies competing with US firms to sell hardware and services in a market estimated to hit $4.8 trillion by 2033. For many of the countries represented at the conference, Chinese firms already offer competitive solutions, even if the US dominates the supply of cutting-edge AI chips. 'The Chinese are coming to the table with a very different AI product mix that is going to be extremely appealing to lower-income countries that lack the computing and power infrastructure needed for large-scale implementation of OpenAI-like AI systems,' said Eric Olander of the China-Global South Project. Over 800 AI companies from more than 70 countries and regions attended the conference, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Using technology as both carrot and calling card, Beijing's approach appears to take a page out of its earlier Digital Silk Road initiative, which put Chinese companies at the center of telecommunications networks spanning continents. China for years has strived to define the global parameters for emerging technologies such as 5G, seeking to influence development and set the stage for its companies to win market share abroad. Huawei Technologies Co.'s prominent role in standard-setting groups became the subject of scrutiny of the US government when it cracked down on the use of its equipment. Global AI governance has emerged as a new battleground for the world's leading powers, both seeing the technology as critical not just for their economy but national security. President Donald Trump declared last week that his country will 'do whatever it takes' to lead in AI, with his plan for actions including countering Chinese influence in international governance bodies. While there are no binding global rules for AI development, China's action plan calls for building more digital infrastructure that uses clean power and unifying computing power standards. The country also said it supports the role of businesses in creating technical standards in security, industry and ethics. Details about the Chinese body, to be headquartered in Shanghai, are scarce. In brief public remarks before media were ushered out of the room, a Chinese Foreign Ministry senior official, Ma Zhaoxu, said the organization would work to establish standards and governance frameworks. China would discuss details with those countries that are willing to join, he added. As US and Chinese companies race to develop systems that could match or even surpassed human intelligence, safety concerns have also prompted calls for guardrails. AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, who spoke at the Chinese event, expressed support for international bodies to collaborate on safety issues. Part of Beijing's AI strategy appears to come from its diplomatic playbook, which urges support for Global South countries to step up in international affairs. In his address to kick off the Saturday event, Li emphasized helping those nations develop AI. These countries made up most of more than 30 nations that were invited to the high-level governance talks, including Ethiopia, Cuba, Bangladesh, Russia and Pakistan. A handful of European countries including the Netherlands, France and Germany, the EU and several international organizations were also represented. No nameplate for the US was seen by Bloomberg News. The US Embassy in Beijing declined to comment on any official presence. Achmad Adhitya, special adviser to Indonesia's vice president who attended the meeting, told Bloomberg News that China's initiative is 'very appreciated by the Indonesian government.' His country is preparing AI curricula to be rolled out across 400,000 schools and is training 60,000 teachers about the tech, he said. Beijing's emphasis on openness — a word used 15 times in its governance action plan — appears to ride on the success of Deepseek earlier this year. The AI upstart stunned the world not just by releasing AI models that are almost as capable as those of OpenAI but also made them freely available for anyone to download and customize for free. A succession of Chinese companies has done the same, with companies from incumbent giants like Alibaba and newcomers like Moonshot releasing cutting-edge large language models that are similarly open-weight. That accessibility may be especially important to developing countries who may not have the resources to gather vast datasets and train their own AI models from scratch, a process that would involve expensive chips made by companies such as Nvidia Corp. China also emphasizes internet sovereignty, something that may appeal to more autocratic regimes around the world. 'We should respect other countries' national sovereignty and strictly abide by their laws when providing them with AI products and services,' according to the country's Global AI Governance Initiative issued in 2023. In contrast, Trump's AI plan vows that the US government will only work with engineers who 'ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias.' The US-China rivalry presents a familiar dilemma for countries that may feel pressured to choose a side, but Solly Malatsi, minister of communications and digital technologies of South Africa, rejects the binary choice. 'It's not a case of one model over the other,' Malatsi said from the conference. 'It's about an integration of the best of both worlds.'
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China Prepares to Unseat US in Fight for $4.8 Trillion AI Market
(Bloomberg) -- While humanoid robots faced off in a boxing ring at China's flagship artificial intelligence conference in Shanghai, a fight in the US-China tech war was fought in suits nearby over who gets to set the rules in the AI age. The World's Data Center Capital Has Residents Surrounded An Abandoned Art-Deco Landmark in Buffalo Awaits Revival Budapest's Most Historic Site Gets a Controversial Rebuild San Francisco in Talks With Vanderbilt for Downtown Campus Boston's Dumpsters Overflow as Trash-Strike Summer Drags On China's answer is a new global organization to convene countries to foster safe and inclusive use of the powerful new technology. At the annual World AI Conference over the weekend, Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned of AI 'monopoly' and instead called on foreign officials in the room — mostly from developing countries — to cooperate on governance. The new group, known as the World AI Cooperation Organization, embodies China's plan to jostle with the US for sway by positioning itself as a champion of AI for all. More favorable rules may give a global boost to Chinese companies competing with US firms to sell hardware and services in a market estimated to hit $4.8 trillion by 2033. For many of the countries represented at the conference, Chinese firms already offer competitive solutions, even if the US dominates the supply of cutting-edge AI chips. 'The Chinese are coming to the table with a very different AI product mix that is going to be extremely appealing to lower-income countries that lack the computing and power infrastructure needed for large-scale implementation of OpenAI-like AI systems,' said Eric Olander of the China-Global South Project. Using technology as both carrot and calling card, Beijing's approach appears to take a page out of its earlier Digital Silk Road initiative, which put Chinese companies at the center of telecommunications networks spanning continents. China for years has strived to define the global parameters for emerging technologies such as 5G, seeking to influence development and set the stage for its companies to win market share abroad. Huawei Technologies Co.'s prominent role in standard-setting groups became the subject of scrutiny of the US government when it cracked down on the use of its equipment. Global AI governance has emerged as a new battleground for the world's leading powers, both seeing the technology as critical not just for their economy but national security. President Donald Trump declared last week that his country will 'do whatever it takes' to lead in AI, with his plan for actions including countering Chinese influence in international governance bodies. While there are no binding global rules for AI development, China's action plan calls for building more digital infrastructure that uses clean power and unifying computing power standards. The country also said it supports the role of businesses in creating technical standards in security, industry and ethics. Details about the Chinese body, to be headquartered in Shanghai, are scarce. In brief public remarks before media were ushered out of the room, a Chinese Foreign Ministry senior official, Ma Zhaoxu, said the organization would work to establish standards and governance frameworks. China would discuss details with those countries that are willing to join, he added. As US and Chinese companies race to develop systems that could match or even surpassed human intelligence, safety concerns have also prompted calls for guardrails. AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, who spoke at the Chinese event, expressed support for international bodies to collaborate on safety issues. Part of Beijing's AI strategy appears to come from its diplomatic playbook, which urges support for Global South countries to step up in international affairs. In his address to kick off the Saturday event, Li emphasized helping those nations develop AI. These countries made up most of more than 30 nations that were invited to the high-level governance talks, including Ethiopia, Cuba, Bangladesh, Russia and Pakistan. A handful of European countries including the Netherlands, France and Germany, the EU and several international organizations were also represented. No nameplate for the US was seen by Bloomberg News. The US Embassy in Beijing declined to comment on any official presence. Indonesia's Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who attended the meeting, told Bloomberg News that China's initiative is 'very appreciated by the Indonesian government.' His country is preparing AI curricula to be rolled out across 400,000 schools and is training 60,000 teachers about the tech, he said. Beijing's emphasis on openness — a word used 15 times in its governance action plan — appears to ride on the success of Deepseek earlier this year. The AI upstart stunned the world not just by releasing AI models that are almost as capable as those of OpenAI but also made them freely available for anyone to download and customize for free. A succession of Chinese companies has done the same, with companies from incumbent giants like Alibaba and newcomers like Moonshot releasing cutting-edge large language models that are similarly open-weight. That accessibility may be especially important to developing countries who may not have the resources to gather vast datasets and train their own AI models from scratch, a process that would involve expensive chips made by companies such as Nvidia Corp. China also emphasizes internet sovereignty, something that may appeal to more autocratic regimes around the world. 'We should respect other countries' national sovereignty and strictly abide by their laws when providing them with AI products and services,' according to the country's Global AI Governance Initiative issued in 2023. In contrast, Trump's AI plan vows that the US government will only work with engineers who 'ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias.' The US-China rivalry presents a familiar dilemma for countries that may feel pressured to choose a side, but Solly Malatsi, minister of communications and digital technologies of South Africa, rejects the binary choice. 'It's not a case of one model over the other,' Malatsi said from the conference. 'It's about an integration of the best of both worlds.' --With assistance from Zheping Huang. 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