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an article published on the u.s. website technology policy on september 23, originally titled: from competition to cooperation: can u.s.-china engagement overcome geopolitical obstacles in artificial intelligence governance? cooperation between the united states and china on artificial intelligence (ai) governance remains at a crossroads. while the two countries compete for dominance in emerging ai technologies, they also recognize the urgent need to cooperate to address ai’s global, cross-border challenges. as two leading ai powers, the united states and china possess not only the most advanced technical capabilities, but also the financial and political influence needed to shape the future of ai governance. however, competition driven by national security concerns, economic interests, and ideological differences complicates efforts to build a cohesive global ai regulatory framework. it is against this tense backdrop that the united states and china have begun to show a cautious openness to engagement, as evidenced by their recent support for un resolutions and their growing participation in important international dialogues—suggesting that the two countries may be moving toward more constructive cooperation on ai governance frameworks.

in july, the united nations general assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on strengthening international cooperation in ai capacity building, which was proposed by china and co-signed by more than 140 countries, including the united states. this gives people a glimmer of hope. in march, china supported the us-led resolution on "seizing opportunities brought by safe, reliable and trustworthy ai systems to promote sustainable development." the two resolutions emphasize roughly the same issues, such as promoting sustainable development goals, capacity building, socioeconomic development, and preventing malicious use of ai systems. in terms of managing ai, both resolutions reaffirmed the need for international cooperation and multi-stakeholder consultations, including developed and developing countries, to "develop and use effective, internationally interoperable safeguards, practices and standards."

the adoption of the two resolutions follows more frequent engagement between china and the united states in multiple forums. in this context, china and the united states have provided mutual support. for example, the two sides came together at the uk ai safety summit last november, where all participating countries unanimously adopted the bletchley declaration.

in addition to bilateral contacts at the government level, informal dialogues between the two countries have also increased significantly. these informal channels provide flexibility to address specific political issues more openly and candidly. the increase in informal contacts also goes beyond sino-us relations, reflecting the increase in interactions between china and the west. the "2024 spring report on the state of china's artificial intelligence security" by concordia university in canada highlights the strengthening of china's engagement with western countries, indicating that in geopolitical calculations, two ideologically different groups have reached a broader consensus on the cross-border nature of cooperative regulation of artificial intelligence.

however, despite promising progress, recent engagement is not without limitations, which could pose a significant obstacle to the establishment of a truly effective ai governance framework. a look at the un resolutions shows that they are clearly based on a non-political basis, focusing on the broad application of ai in the social, economic and public spheres. however, these resolutions do not address practical issues and may be ignored like other un resolutions. for example, neither resolution touches on the “development or use of ai for military purposes.”

in addition, the core values ​​of china and the united states in governing ai are also different. during the bilateral talks in geneva, china raised the issue of "us restrictions and suppression of china in the field of ai", while the us emphasized the risk of china abusing ai. in the global ai governance initiative, china stated that it "opposes the use of technological monopoly and unilateral coercive measures to create development barriers and maliciously block the global ai supply chain." the recent contacts may also be seen as an agreement based on short-term interest calculations to achieve public relations purposes, and therefore cannot be said to be a prelude to truly strong international cooperation and solutions.

however, whether the recent dialogue is a truly groundbreaking step in ai governance or just a superficial effort for publicity and short-term interests will take time to answer and need to be interpreted in conjunction with the next step of cooperation.

at a time when major powers are engaging in trade restrictions, sanctions, and reduced dialogue on international issues, the increased engagement between the united states and china refutes the traditional realist "power center theory," which holds that the united states and china will coerce discussions on global governance of ai for their own purposes, or simply promote favorable proposals for public relations. both china and the united states must recognize that there is no physical separation in ai, but rather that global efforts are needed to regulate this seemingly endless war for technological domination. the coming months and years will be a critical period in determining whether the united states and china can transcend their differences and shape the future of ai. (author nayan chandra mishra, translated by qiao heng)