Opinion | 3 low-hanging fruit for US-China cooperation on AI
Given the escalation of technological competition across the Pacific, it is tempting to see AI as an area where excessive caution and hype over security and politico-ideological control render it impossible for the two administrations to see eye to eye.
Yet this view ignores the vast areas in which Beijing and Washington can still work together through government-to-government and people-to-people engagement.
Even while comprehensive agreements on the regulation of dual-use AI remain elusive – given domestic political intransigence, high strategic stakes and the US’ ratcheting up of pressure to contain China’s technological rise – both administrations can pragmatically cultivate a modus vivendi.
China and the US exchanged views “deeply, professionally and constructively” in their first intergovernmental talks on AI risks and governance in Geneva on May 14, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout. Photo: Weibo
In San Francisco last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden affirmed the importance of coordinating over the challenges AI poses to humanity. The next step should be to address three low-hanging fruit when it comes to cooperation.
The first area concerns the potential detrimental effect of AI-induced automation on societies. The displacement of routine service labour and acceleration of substitution through AI-powered robotics could result in mass unemployment and widen socioeconomic inequality.
Experts argue that addressing AI-induced malaise – ranging from misinformation via deepfakes and algorithmic targeting to disruption of relationships and attitudes of trust and compassion – requires joint efforts from some of the world’s largest tech regulators, in China, the United States and the European Union.
While China’s extensive regulations on AI use in content generation and social media could prove to be unduly stifling for private developers, and granted that the US has a vastly different political economy, Washington may still benefit from taking a leaf out of China’s book on delineating harmful and impermissible corporate uses of user data. Aligning on transnational privacy and data regulation is of critical importance.
Secondly, it would take explicit instructions from the top to establish guard rails on the deployment of lethal AI-powered technologies in military settings. As the late US secretary of state Henry Kissinger noted, the gargantuan costs of an unbridled AI-powered war are far too daunting for responsible statesmen to ignore.
02:11
Autonomous ‘wingman’ drone technology being developed for tomorrow’s ‘Top Gun’ fighter pilots
Autonomous ‘wingman’ drone technology being developed for tomorrow’s ‘Top Gun’ fighter pilots
More substantively, both sides must commit to withholding decision-making powers from AI in the use of large-scale weaponry and in digital warfare against financial and physical infrastructure, as well as agree on heightened transparency and full disclosure of AI militarisation capacities.
Many of these steps had been adopted previously in nuclear non-proliferation and coordination between the Soviet Union and the US during the Cold War. We live in times when the focal bilateral relationship is much less fractious.
Indeed, China’s defence ministry has indicated its openness to jointly regulating military AI, and the recent US-China talks on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore are a reassuring sign of thawing military-to-military relations.
Recently, the reported use of algorithms to identify human targets in the Gaza war has sparked considerable controversy. The use of AI in the Ukraine war has also raised concern.
In defining the ethical boundaries of war, legal and ethical experts should put their heads together to foster mutually binding regulatory standards, taking into full account the complexity of human experience and contextually specific expectations.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin shakes hands with China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun during a ministerial round-table discussion on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1. Photo: Bloomberg
Thirdly, the issue of non-alignment between humanity and AI knows no nationality or politics. As leading Chinese AI ethicist Yi Zeng noted in 2019, value alignment with humanity is a universal challenge for AI.
One classic example is philosopher Nick Bostrom’s 2003 thought experiment – suppose an AI agent has been tasked with producing as many paper clips as possible. In seeking to maximise the space, energy and resources for manufacturing, the powerful agent acts to stifle the growth of humanity, which it views as contrary to its production objective.
This may seem fanciful, yet is by no means unrealistic. With sufficiently powerful AI agents, seemingly clear objectives could produce unintended, perverse consequences – an issue both Chinese and American developers must confront as they race to produce the most competitive AI models.
03:08
What if robots took over the world? One ‘imagines’ nightmare scenario
What if robots took over the world? One ‘imagines’ nightmare scenario
Additionally, specific training environments and positive reinforcement will spur certain emergent goals in AI, which – when transplanted to a non-test environment – could produce undesirable outcomes.
Both countries’ leaders share an overarching interest in ensuring their AI agents do not impinge on humanity’s interests, whether through intentional manipulation by unaccountable private actors, or faulty developmental processes by authorised researchers.
Thought leadership and research on this issue need not be zero-sum – both China and the US stand to gain from alignment in ethical tech governance.
Here Hong Kong can serve as a conduit for Track 1.5 and 2 dialogues on AI, which could feature a larger proportion of private-sector players than such dialogues in Beijing – especially from the US and the rest of the West.
All hands must be on deck to avoid the calamities that could result from increasingly intertwined developments in nascent technologies and geopolitics.
Brian Wong is an assistant professor in philosophy at the University of Hong Kong, and a Rhodes Scholar and adviser on strategy for the Oxford Global Society
IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Now Playing May 12: Trump heads to China, Cruise quarantine 18:48 UP NEXT May 11: Hantavirus, Cambridge shooting 20:29 May 10: Hantavirus cruise ship evacuated; Iran war 18:54 May 9: Frontier Airlines flight hits trespasser on runway; hantavirus cruise ship
SHENZHEN, CHINA – MAY 1: The Chinese national flag is seen in front of stacked shipping containers bearing MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company), Maersk, and Hamburg Süd branding at Yantian Port on May 1, 2026, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images Chinese exporters spent the past year scrambling
The company’s first conservation project was the Main Hall of the Hongluo Temple, a Buddhist temple in northern Beijing. Cheng was put in charge of the masonry work, and it was here that his story with ancient architecture began. Cheng later sought guidance from Piao Xuelin, a 15th-generation descendant of the Xinglongmen masonry tradition (of
IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Now Playing Journey to Great Wall of China 03:00 UP NEXT Inside look at quarantine facility for cruise ship passengers 01:45 NBA star dies in Los Angeles 01:19 Trump heads to high-stakes summit in China 03:37 Inside China’s battle for
As President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week in Beijing, the United States and China are locked in an intense competition to become the dominant player in the future of AI innovation. Analysts suggest that artificial intelligence is the most transformative general technology since electricity brought light and power to average
IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Journey to Great Wall of China 03:00 Inside look at quarantine facility for cruise ship passengers 01:45 NBA star dies in Los Angeles 01:19 Trump heads to high-stakes summit in China 03:37 Now Playing Inside China’s battle for electric vehicle
ARCADIA, Calif. – Former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges alleging she secretly acted as an agent of the Chinese government. Resignation What we know: Wang, 58, resigned from office Monday, the same day the federal indictment was made public. In her resignation letter to city leaders, she described
IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Inside look at quarantine facility for cruise ship passengers 01:45 NBA star dies in Los Angeles 01:19 Now Playing Trump heads to high-stakes summit in China 03:37 UP NEXT Inside China’s battle for electric vehicle dominance 02:33 Inside American passengers’
article President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One on May 12, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) President Donald Trump departed Tuesday for Beijing for a highly anticipated summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week. Trump and Xi are meeting in a two-day summit on May
Updated May 12, 2026, 12:50 p.m. ET A Southern California mayor has been charged with operating as an illegal foreign agent on behalf of the Chinese government and resigned from her post, authorities announced. Eileen Wang, 58, who has been mayor of the Los Angeles County suburb of Arcadia since February, agreed to plead guilty
The AnewZ Opinion section provides a platform for independent voices to share expert perspectives on global and regional issues. The views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not represent the official position of AnewZ Many developing countries continue to face chronic energy shortages. Frequent power cuts disrupt industries, limit access to healthcare
China is widening its lead in global clean tech, raising new security concerns. An analysis of $1.1 trillion in global clean energy manufacturing investments between 2019 and 2025 by the research firm Atlas Public Policy found that more than half were made by Chinese companies. Out of China’s more than $500 billion in total investment,
President Trump is set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 and 15 for talks about trade, Taiwan, and China’s relationship with Iran as the war in the Middle East enters its third month. It will be Trump’s second trip to China as president — and the first for any U.S.
Ahead of the US-China summit, the world’s two largest economies are preparing for a high-stakes meeting in Beijing, where US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet at a critical moment as personal chemistry and national rivalry collide on the global stage. “I have a very good relationship with President
Ex-mayor of wealthy Los Angeles suburb promoted pro-China propaganda at behest of Chinese officials, prosecutors say. Published On 12 May 202612 May 2026 The former mayor of a wealthy suburb in the United States city of Los Angeles has admitted to acting as an illegal agent of China, according to authorities. Eileen Wang, the former mayor of Arcadia, agreed
IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Black lawmakers speak out against Alabama redistricting plan 01:55 Now Playing U.S. and China execute joint drug bust ahead of Trump-Xi summit 02:17 UP NEXT Trump Mobile phone release date still uncertain 03:19 Man accused of strangling his pregnant wife
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A California mayor who has since resigned has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China and has agreed to plead guilty, according to federal prosecutors who say she secretly worked to push pro-Beijing messaging inside the United States before she
Eileen Wang: A former California mayor is facing federal consequences after admitting she secretly worked on behalf of the Chinese government while helping run a website that presented itself as a news source for Chinese Americans. Former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang Resigns After Federal Plea Deal Former Arcadia mayor Eileen Wang resigned after agreeing to
Humanoid robots in work clothes orderly transport materials on the green conveyor belt during 2025 World AI Conference on July 26. ZHU WEIHUI/FOR CHINA DAILY China has entered a new chapter in which innovation stands at the center of national progress. Once known mainly for its manufacturing strength, China has emerged as one of the
LOS ANGELES — The mayor of the Los Angeles-area city of Arcadia will plead guilty to illegally acting as an agent of China and has resigned from her municipal position, officials said Monday. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Eileen Wang, who was elected mayor of
