China-ASEAN Digital Academy and AI Industry Innovation Center Announced

On January 14, 2026, at the China-ASEAN Digital Ecosystem Cooperation Networking Dinner in Hanoi, Vietnam — held alongside the 6th ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting — China and ASEAN formally announced plans to establish the China-ASEAN Digital Academy (中国—东盟数字学院) and the China-ASEAN AI Industry Innovation Center (中国—东盟人工智能产业创新中心). The event was co-organized by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (工业和信息化部) and the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (中国信息通信研究院), and attended by former Cambodian minister and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn (高金洪) and Chinese Vice Minister Zhang Yunming (张云明). The centers’ launch is scheduled for 2026, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, and forms part of the ASEAN-China Action Plan on Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Ecosystem (2026-2030), aimed at developing digital talent, promoting open-source AI technology, and advancing AI security governance across the region.