Third High Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development

Gèwèi péngyou xià wǔ hǎo!

Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to join you for this important discussion on how we can leverage digital tools to accelerate high-quality development across the Global South.

We meet at a moment when cutting-edge digital technologies are rapidly reshaping economies, societies, and development pathways.

For the United Nations, we see these technologies as creating dramatic new sustainable development opportunities.

We are, therefore, of one mind with China’s Foreign Minister, His Excellency Mr. WANG Yi, who urged us all this morning to “seize these opportunities” for what he memorably called “the Digital South”.

Inclusive digital transformation – and I must emphasize the word inclusive – is key to unlocking broad sustainable development outcomes that will benefit all countries and communities.

In other words, for building a truly digital version of a “Community with a Shared Future for Mankind”.

But these cutting-edge technologies also raise important new risks.

And as Lesotho’s Minister reminded us in the Opening Session, these technologies can only become opportunities when “well governed”.

And in many cases, that management will require a bold, multilateral dimension.

Both the opportunities and the risks are captured in the bold vision that is The Pact for the Future and its associated Global Digital Compact。

These together provide a practical roadmap for international cooperation, solemnly agreed by the global United Nations Membership.

Together, these two documents call for universal connectivity, a stronger digital public infrastructure, responsible governance of artificial intelligence and deeper cooperation to ensure that no country is left behind and no one left offline.

To support this bold agenda, the UN Secretary-General has established an Independent International Scientific Panel on AI last year, bringing together 40 leading global experts, including 2 from China: Dr. WANG Jian and Dr. SONG Haitao.

The Panel’s role is to assess the opportunities, risks and impacts of AI that will feed into discussions at the annual UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

And that Global Dialogue, in turn, seeks to enhance international cooperation around this challenging issue.

Here in China, United Nations China is working to translate these global commitments into concrete results.

We do this by working closely with national and local partners to advance digital inclusion, strengthen skills and support effective digital governance systems.

Through UN China support, over the past five years, more than 1 million children and young people have strengthened digital and transferable skills through UN-supported programmes, contributing to a more future-ready workforce. 

We have supported pathways for digital employment and entrepreneurship, particularly for women and youth, while also strengthening data systems and governance approaches that align innovation with public good outcomes.

Across these efforts, the UN’s contribution is not only about applying digital technologies, but about translating them into stronger institutional capacity, better decision-making and more inclusive public systems.

At the same time, we are helping to connect China’s experience with the broader Global South, ensuring that knowledge and practical solutions can be shared and adapted across different contexts.

Because of the unmatched scale and speed of China’s digital transformation its experience offers valuable insights for countries seeking to harness technology for development.

From e-commerce ecosystems – my goodness, I have been impressed with that interoperability since arriving in Beijing just a few weeks ago! – which connect small businesses to global markets, to digital payment systems that expand financial inclusion, to advances in artificial intelligence and smart infrastructure shaping new industries…

These practical examples can shape sustainable development pathways across the Global South and we already see many promising instances of this underway.

Digital platforms supporting rural revitalization and local economic development.

AI-enabled agriculture improving productivity and climate resilience.

AI-empowered environmental monitoring, supporting conservation and driving the fight against the climate emergency.

And cross-border e-commerce opening new opportunities for small and medium enterprises.

These are not abstract ideas.

They are concrete pathways for high-quality and inclusive development.

But again, we must remain clear-eyed about the risks. 

Digital systems and AI bring new risks to children and to women, including cyberbullying, fraud and online abuse, while almost half of AI systems show gender bias.

Racial bias in existing AI technologies is a related challenge.

Digital divides persist – as vice Chairman Zhao eloquently pointed out.

They exist both within and between countries and between women and men.

As Honourable Minister Thomas from Grenada powerfully reminded us this morning, “global connectivity is also about access to technology”.

These digital divides risk further entrenching broader inequalities if not addressed and well managed.

So, in short: access alone is not enough.

People need skills, trust, and protections that ensure their rights are respected in digital spaces.

And countries require global norms and standards, grounded in inclusion, dignity and mutuality.

This is where multilateral cooperation remains indispensable.

The United Nations provides the single global platform for dialogue, a foundation of shared principles and the ability to connect and convene countries and partners around common solutions.

Our noble mandate is to help ensure that digital transformation supports development that is inclusive, sustainable and people-centred, in a safe digital eco-system.

Excellencies,

Digital empowerment, then, cannot solely be about advancing and proliferating technology.

It is about expanding opportunity, reducing inequality and ensuring that innovation contributes to shared prosperity.

China’s leadership, combined with strong international cooperation, can make a decisive difference.

Including, I believe, in raising a leading voice in the forthcoming 2027 High-Level Review of the Global Digital Compact, to which Vice Chairman Zhao drew our attention earlier. 

Let us move from ambition to implementation.

And ensure that digital transformation becomes a true driver of high-quality development for the “Digital South”.

Féichāng gǎnxiè dájīa！