China blasts US plan of asking countries to take sides on AI

China firmly opposes taking sides or engaging in bloc confrontation on issues related to artificial intelligence, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Wednesday in response to Washington's plan to inform dozens of countries to choose sides in the AI race between the United States and China.

The US State Department has drafted a letter telling the 35 countries that signed its AI Opportunity Statement that they must choose between Washington's AI coalition and China's competing framework, according to a US official and an internal draft reviewed by Reuters.

"We hope all parties will abandon zero-sum thinking, uphold solidarity and cooperation, and respect the digital sovereignty of all countries," Lin said at a daily news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

Lin said all countries have the right to choose their partners based on their own national conditions and development needs.

He called for joint efforts to build a fair and reasonable global AI governance system, so that AI can become an important driving force for promoting shared prosperity and maintaining common security.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn