/PRNewswire/ — As Pakistan enters its annual monsoon season, accurate forecasts are critical to protecting lives and livelihoods. China’s MAZU meteorological system, supported by artificial intelligence, helps Pakistan detect early warning signals and issue faster warnings of potential extreme weather fluctuations.
“Using this platform, we can make more accurate forecasts of floods, droughts and other extreme weather events,” said Furrukh Bashir, head of research and development at the Pakistan Meteorological Department. “We look forward to more similar products that can benefit people around the world.”
The system, deployed in several countries, shows how artificial intelligence can help solve global challenges. Through open source models, technological cooperation and international initiatives, China is working to make artificial intelligence more accessible and bring its benefits to more people around the world.
At the opening ceremony of the World Conference on Artificial Intelligence and the 2026 High-Level Meeting on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence held in Shanghai on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on countries to promote a people-centered approach and work together to build a fair and inclusive global artificial intelligence governance system.
“China, as a responsible major country, is always committed to providing international public goods related to artificial intelligence,” Xi Jinping said.
Transform artificial intelligence into a shared opportunity through openness
At the conference, Xi Jinping announced a series of measures to support the global development of artificial intelligence, including helping 30 countries use the MAZU weather system, providing 5,000 artificial intelligence training opportunities for developing countries over the next five years, and establishing international centers for cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence applications with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the League of Arab States, the African Union, The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS grouping.
China is also embracing open source development to promote more inclusive global growth in artificial intelligence.
Chinese models such as Alibaba’s DeepSeek and Qwen have gained global attention for their high efficiency, affordability and openness, allowing developers and businesses to adapt AI technologies at lower costs. Official data shows that China’s open-source artificial intelligence models have recently surpassed 10 billion cumulative downloads worldwide.
In Africa, for example, DeepSeek’s open-source approach allows developers to freely download and fine-tune artificial intelligence systems, helping to strengthen local digital capabilities and foster domestic innovation across the continent.
This approach also significantly reduced costs. At just $0.27 per million input tokens and $1.10 per million output tokens, DeepSeek has reduced entry barriers by more than 90% compared to some mainstream Western AI models, enabling more African users and businesses to engage in digital transformation.
“As a developing country, China understands the aspirations of many countries in the Global South for economic development and technological advancement,” said Zhang Weiwei, deputy director of the Institute for World Peace and Security Research at the China Institute of International Studies.
Zhang said China’s open-source AI models provide an opportunity for countries to develop applications faster and at a lower cost, allowing more developing countries to benefit from technological advances.
Promoting global cooperation to bridge the gap in artificial intelligence
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, the global gap in artificial intelligence is widening. The World Bank’s Digital Progress and Trends 2025 report highlighted significant differences between high-, middle-, and low-income countries in artificial intelligence systems and computing capacity. Global data center resources, meanwhile, remain highly concentrated in developed economies, with Africa accounting for less than 1% of global capacity.
To address these widening disparities, Xi called on countries to help developing countries improve artificial intelligence capabilities, bridge the digital divide and build a globally accepted governance framework to ensure new technologies benefit all humanity.
China has long advocated for a fair and inclusive global artificial intelligence management system. In 2023, it proposed the Global Initiative for Governance of Artificial Intelligence, followed in 2024 by the Action Plan for Building Capacity in Artificial Intelligence for the Common Good, and in 2025 by the Initiative for International Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence (AI+). The goal of this effort is to support the responsible development of artificial intelligence and help bridge the digital divide.
China has also worked to create platforms for international cooperation. She founded the Center for Global Innovative Governance in Artificial Intelligence (CGAIG) and the Group of Friends for International Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence Capacity Building, which bring countries together to strengthen dialogue, share knowledge and improve capacity building.
The signing of an agreement to establish the World Organization for Cooperation in the Field of Artificial Intelligence in Shanghai on Thursday marked another step towards deepening global cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence and promoting the safe, fair and beneficial development of artificial intelligence.
From open-source models and AI training programs to global governance initiatives, China is working to make AI a common driver of innovation and development and ensure that the benefits of this transformative technology, once used by few, reach more countries and communities.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-07-17/China-vows-to-make-AI-a-driver-for-shared-prosperity-amid-AI-gap-1OQR3INoGdy/p.html