On May 25, China and the multilateral Southeast Asian body ASEAN launched a joint initiative to boost AI in the media. Details on the initiative, unveiled at the China-ASEAN Media Cooperation Forum at Luoyang, are thin so far. The Chinese readout says it calls for Chinese and ASEAN media to boost cooperation in research and development for AI and AI capacity building, alongside mutual recognition of media standards on the topic. Chinese media giant Kuaishou spoke to representatives from countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand on the company’s experiences with AI and “media innovation pathways.”
The forum is one data point in a wider strategy to boost China’s influence in the Global South through AI development. China has already cobbled together a group of nations at the UN united in their desire to build AI capacity, using the group as an advert for Chinese AI products. Xi Jinping has said AI will create a “lead-goose effect” (头雁效应) — that is, other countries following wherever the leader goes — and hopes it will pave the way for China to become that leader.
