Opening Remarks and Strategic Perspectives on International AI Cooperation for Sustainable Development

Colleagues, friends, and partners,

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant horizon. 

It is here, it is accelerating and it is reshaping the world and the development landscape in real time, at breathtaking pace.

And so it’s a pleasure and also an opportunity to join you here in Zhongguancun, at the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems.

As we’ve just seen in the exhibition hall, Beijing — and Haidian District in particular — has built an extraordinary concentration of talent, research institutions and companies pushing the boundaries of what AI can do. 

This is not innovation in the abstract. 

It is innovation with direct implications for the Sustainable Development Goals: from climate resilience and food security to education, health and inclusive urbanization. 

The programme highlights this clearly — with sessions on AI‑powered weather forecasting, multilingual education technologies, robotics and geo‑AI for disaster risk reduction.

But with this opportunity comes responsibility. 

AI can widen inequalities just as easily as it can close them. 

It can empower communities — or marginalize them. 

It can strengthen trust — or erode it. 

And so the challenge before us is not simply to adopt AI, but to shape it:

To ensure that the systems we build are safe, ethical, transparent and aligned with human rights. 

This is why the UN system globally and here in China, is investing heavily in responsible AI governance, capacity‑building and multilateral cooperation.

China’s technological capabilities — especially those represented here today — can be a powerful engine for SDG acceleration. 

The question is how we channel that engine toward shared global priorities. 

And this is where international cooperation becomes indispensable.

With that very much in mind, I want to highlight the vision and drive of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. 

The SCO brings together a diverse group of countries facing common development challenges — from climate shocks to demographic transitions to digital divides. 

AI can help address all of these, but only if countries have access to the tools, standards and partnerships needed to deploy it safely and effectively. 

China’s leadership in the SCO, combined with the UN’s convening role and technical expertise, creates a unique opportunity: 

To build cross‑border AI cooperation that is practical, inclusive, and grounded in the SDGs.

Imagine SCO‑wide early warning systems powered by AI. 

Shared platforms for agricultural forecasting. 

Joint initiatives on AI governance for children and youth. 

Collaborative research on AI and public health. 

A decade ago, these would have seemed distant possibilities.

Miraculously, today they are actionable ideas that align directly with the discussions we will have later today on project opportunities in China and with China in other countries.

So my message is simple: the opportunity is enormous, the challenge is real and the moment is now. 

The UN in China is committed to working with all of you — government, industry, academia, and multilateral partners — to ensure that AI becomes a force for sustainable development, not a source of new divides.

Thank you for being here, thank you for your leadership and I look forward to a rich and practical dialogue this afternoon.