The 2025 China-ASEAN Ministerial Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence is held in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on September 18, 2025. Photo: Zhang Weilan/GT

China on Thursday announced the construction of the China-ASEAN Countries Artificial Intelligence Application Cooperation Center, a joint hub expected to deepen artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration by strengthening industrial cooperation, and promoting talent cultivation, pushing for the implementation of practical cooperation projects, as well as promoting on-the-ground deployment of AI across the region, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Chinese experts said the move shows China's commitment to multilateralism and mutual development among nations, aiming to share AI dividends, bridge the digital divide and ensure the technology works for the common good.

The announcement was made at the 2025 China-ASEAN Ministerial Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence, co-hosted by China's National Development and Reform Commission and the government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Thursday in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The meeting aims to build a China-ASEAN ministerial dialogue and exchange platform on AI, promote China and ASEAN countries to deepen practical cooperation in AI development and governance, and share the dividends of AI development, Xinhua reported.

The event, the first ASEAN-China ministerial-level meeting on AI, took place on the sidelines of the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

Ministers and delegates from ASEAN countries  attended the meeting and shared perspectives on AI opportunities, challenges, and potential areas for joint development and cooperation between China and ASEAN, the Global Times learned from the organizers. 

Meanwhile, the meeting proposed launching the China-ASEAN "AI Plus" Action and jointly building a China-ASEAN AI ministerial cooperation mechanism. Some major joint development achievements were also announced at the ASEAN-China ministerial roundtable on AI, according to Xinhua.

In his speech, Chen Gang, secretary of the CPC Guangxi Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, underlined the region's role as China's gateway for cooperation with ASEAN and its commitment to supporting AI development across Southeast Asia.

Attending the meeting, Bui Hoang Phuong, deputy minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam, said that "building upon the effective cooperation between China and ASEAN partners, we believe this roundtable will be an occasion to share visions and new ideas for our common benefit, thereby promoting AI for humanity, strengthening economic power and contributing to the prosperity and stability of our region." 

Tiranee Achalakul, president of the Big Data Institute under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society of Thailand, said, "We are pleased to participate in cooperation between China and ASEAN in the field of AI. Thailand hopes to strengthen the construction of AI infrastructure and contribute to the development of AI."

The meeting bore a significant meaning and importance in enhancing collaboration between ASEAN and China to support economic growth, said Parulian Silalahi, deputy chief of mission and Vice Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in China. "China is at the forefront of AI development and innovation. Meanwhile, ASEAN is a burgeoning hotspot for AI development and innovation, as it increasingly becomes the key driver for the region's digital and AI transformation," he added.

The potential for AI-based economic development in ASEAN, amplified by deeper collaboration with China, is boundless, according to Unny Sankar, minister of Economic Affairs at the Malaysian Embassy in China. The upgraded Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA 3.0) is turbocharging this synergy, with AI at its core—spanning digital technology, green energy, smart agriculture, and resilient supply chains. "Guangxi is pioneering an international AI cooperation hub focused on ASEAN, and has already secured over 60 projects in smart sectors and cultivated talent pipelines that bridge our markets," he said.

Cutting-edge fields such as AI, new energy and the digital economy have become new drivers of cooperation between China and ASEAN members. The meeting demonstrated China's willingness to collaborate with ASEAN countries on AI development and work together for a shared future. It also represented a concrete step for China to share its development dividends with other countries and help ASEAN countries narrow their digital development gaps, according to a Chinese expert.

China is stepping up policy dialogues on AI governance, joint research and development and capacity building, while delivering soft investments in AI products, services and talent training, aiming to narrow the AI development gap within the region, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Chinese AI enterprise iFlytek announced plans to sign a number of cooperation deals with companies and educational institutes in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar at the expo, the Global Times learned from the company on Thursday. 

"With the future implementation of the CAFTA 3.0, our AI translation technology can better serve scenarios such as cross-border e-commerce, international conferences and digital content creation across the region, becoming a new form of infrastructure connecting China and ASEAN in the digital economy," said Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlytek.

Che Fai Tan, president of the ASEAN Federation of Smart Industry, told the Global Times that ASEAN countries have benefited from China's expertise in AI, blockchain, and the Internet of Things. The latest example is that Chinese service and industrial robots are now key enablers of the region's manufacturing upgrade. 

China and ASEAN have been each other's largest trading partners for five consecutive years. Bilateral industrial cooperation has continued to improve and upgrade, driven by AI and other digital technologies, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality in the face of multiple global uncertainties, Liao Bin, executive chairman of the ASEAN-China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Cooperation and Development, told the Global Times on Thursday. The association will actively support more Chinese firms to enter the ASEAN markets and help upgrade local industries, creating jobs and mutual gains, he said.