Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday offered to lead the establishment of a BRICS AI open-source community, cooperation on large language models, AI training programmes, a digital ecosystem cloud platform and collaboration on intelligent manufacturing.
Speaking at the second session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Sunday, Xi also proposed a BRICS engineer alliance and technology-focused youth exchanges.
China has been rapidly scaling up its domestic AI sector. Rather than competing only on individual AI models, it is seeking to build an ecosystem where Chinese technology, computing, applications, skills and standards can spread across developing economies.
Xi proposed that China lead the establishment of an open-source AI community, support the joint development and application of large language models and conduct specialised AI seminars and training courses.
In July in Shanghai Xi called for open-source cooperation and announced international AI application cooperation centres with BRICS, ASEAN, the African Union, the Arab League and other regional groupings.
China has also established the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) in Shanghai, with 29 countries signing its founding agreement. Beijing has presented the organisation as a mechanism to help Global South countries build AI capacity and participate in global AI governance.
Xi also called for a BRICS digital cloud platform and conducting digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment to jointly enable the development of the digital economy.
He also said that China stands ready to assist fellow BRICS countries in building smart factories and developing standards and norms to jointly promote manufacturing transformation and upgrading.
For the science and technology talent development initiative, China has proposed a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance for joint development of engineers and mutual recognition of competency standards. “China will launch a BRICS youth exchange program for scientific and technological innovation to cultivate more high-caliber talent,” Xi said.
Under the trade and investment facilitation initiative China also proposed a BRICS special economic zone (SEZ) partnership, under which countries can set up an intelligent portal, coordinate policies, and build a new frontier for open development. “In an effort to cultivate new drivers of economic and trade cooperation, China will hold the BRICS Forum on Trade in Services next year,” Xi said.