On 24 May 2026, The China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation Center (hereinafter referred to as the “China-ASEAN AI Center”) was officially inaugurated in Beijing. Ke Jixin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China, and Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, attended the ceremony and delivered opening remarks.
Under the framework of the China-ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting mechanism, China and ASEAN member states have deepened cooperation continuously, using AI as a bond to build cross-border cooperation chains and jointly create a mutually beneficial “Digital Silk Road”.
To advance the Action Plan on Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Ecosystem (2026–2030) and implement the 2026 China-ASEAN Digital Cooperation Plan, MIIT facilitated the establishment of the Center on the basis of broad consensus, aiming to build a multilateral AI cooperation platform for ASEAN. The Center will leverage the complementary industrial strengths of China and ASEAN to deepen practical cooperation in the AI sector.
The China-ASEAN AI Center will focus on four priority areas.
- Promote technology research and innovation cooperation, strengthening the application of next-generation AI technologies such as large language models in typical industrial scenarios to accelerate industrial intelligent upgrading.
- Build an AI industry cooperation ecosystem, establishing a dialogue mechanism between China and ASEAN countries on AI industry development to facilitate bilateral and multilateral trade and investment.
- Deepen AI governance practices, strengthening standardization coordination and governance tool development to form governance frameworks and rules with greater consensus.
- Support regional capacity building, jointly developing smart infrastructure and sharing the benefits of AI development to bridge the global digital divide.
Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn highlighted several directions for deeper collaboration through the Center in his remarks. He stressed the need to embrace technologies that strengthen the region’s digital backbone, including edge computing and low-cost, replicable large language models tailored to ASEAN needs, while addressing the urgent need for sustainable, energy-efficient data centre infrastructure and greater adoption of green energy. He called for moving beyond AI governance principles to focus on scalable AI deployment and development, noting that the Center will showcase technologies, products and applications in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare and transportation. He also announced that the ASEAN AI Safety Network (AI SAFE), to be established later this year, will support these efforts through regulatory sandbox cooperation to test AI model compliance and reduce policy risks. Finally, he underscored the importance of cultivating the next generation of talent through AI training programmes for ASEAN officials, corporate employees and international students to ensure inclusive digital transformation.
During the ceremony, representatives engaged in in-depth exchanges on China-ASEAN AI industry cooperation. Participants included representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN member states, relevant departments and affiliated units of MIIT such as CAICT, as well as enterprises and financial institutions.
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