China eyes enhancing digital partnership

China will continue engaging in global artificial intelligence governance with a win-win approach while enhancing digital partnership with others, said officials and experts attending the World Internet Conference Digital Silk Road Development Forum in Quanzhou, Fujian province, on Thursday.

The forum, themed "Embracing the Digital and Intelligent Maritime Silk Road — Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace", was co-organized by the WIC and the Fujian provincial government. It drew more than 600 participants from 49 countries and regions and 13 international organizations.

China first proposed the building of a Digital Silk Road at the 2017 Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said that as a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerates worldwide, the growing prominence of digitalization, networking and intelligentization underscores the strategic significance of developing the Digital Silk Road.

China will adhere to the approach of win-win cooperation to jointly propel the innovative development of the digital economy, Li said.

On cybersecurity, he stressed the need to uphold law-based cyberspace governance and jointly enhance the capacity to safeguard cybersecurity.

Zhou Zuyi, secretary of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee, said that amid accelerating global digital transformation, the Digital Silk Road has become a key driver for advancing international economic and trade cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Zhou said that efforts will be made to strengthen capacity building in data governance, such as network communication and data processing, and to establish a data infrastructure system with wider coverage, greater operational stability and faster response.

Ding Shizhong, chairman of Anta Sports, said, "AI is driving unprecedented transformation across industries, reshaping corporate competitiveness."

On enterprises' role in advancing AI development, Ding emphasized that enterprises serve not only as adopters of innovative technologies, but also as drivers and transformers.

"Enterprises need to strategically tap into AI's potential, converting technological capabilities into practical productivity through innovative business models, to propel high-end transformation across industries," Ding said.

On digital accessibility, Martin Charles, Dominica's ambassador to China, said, "For Dominica, the BRI opened cooperation for digital trade, offering the starting point for integration into digital trade ecosystems worldwide."

"China's global leadership in technology development and, in particular, AI is making technology more accessible and affordable to the Global South," he added.