The China-ASEAN School is officially inaugurated in Beijing on July 5, 2026, aiming to build a long-term platform connecting legal scholars and practitioners from China and all ASEAN member states while promoting two-way exchanges in legal education, research and practice. Photo: Sun Langchen/GT

The 2026 Conference on Exchanges and Mutual Learning of the Rule of Law of Civiliazations was held in Beijing on Sunday, bringing together more than 150 legal scholars, judges and experts from over 20 countries and regions to explore how legal dialogue can strengthen mutual understanding among civilizations and address emerging global challenges. Against the backdrop of accelerating technological change and climate risks, governance of artificial intelligence and ecological protection emerged as two of the most discussed issues throughout the event.

The conference featured four parallel forums focusing on the autonomy of Chinese law, legal protection for the digital economy, cultivation of legal talent and global governance of financial crimes. During the opening ceremony, the China-ASEAN School was officially inaugurated, aiming to build a long-term platform connecting legal scholars and practitioners from China and all ASEAN member states while promoting two-way exchanges in legal education, research and practice.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary General of ASEAN, stressed that no legal tradition has evolved in isolation and that mutual learning has always driven the development of legal civilizations. Describing China as a close partner in ASEAN judicial cooperation, he said legal diversity should be regarded as a source of strength instead of a barrier, adding that deeper China-ASEAN legal cooperation will be essential as countries confront increasingly complex cross-border challenges together.

That emphasis on dialogue over uniformity resonated throughout the conference. Miguel de Serpa Soares, former under-secretary general for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, said in his speech that cross-border cooperation depends on understanding each other's legal systems, and legal diversity should be viewed not as an obstacle but as the very condition in which international law operates. Citing the Chinese philosophy of "harmony without uniformity," he added that lasting international order ultimately depends on legitimacy built through consistency, reciprocity and inclusiveness rather than power alone.

While many Western legal systems developed environmental law primarily through pollution-control legislation and administrative regulation, China's approach has increasingly integrated ecological considerations into constitutional governance and judicial decision-making, Antonio Herman Benjamin, President and Chief justice of Brazil's National High Court , said after being appointed an honorary professor of China University of Political Science and Law.

Benjamin pointed to China's network of nearly 3,000 environmental and ecological adjudicatory bodies, as well as its public interest litigation system, which enables courts to protect ecological interests even when no direct victim can be identified.

Responding to a Global Times question on the recent debate in parts of Europe, where record-breaking heat waves have reignited discussions over air-conditioner use, energy consumption and the balance between climate protection and human well-being, Benjamin said the debate should not lose sight of the root cause.

"At the end of the day, the problem is not air conditioners. The problem is climate change," Benjamin told the Global Times. He argued that governments should both protect people during extreme weather and address the root causes of climate change by reducing carbon emissions, where China is making good progress, warning that "otherwise, we'll end up with a planet of air conditioners."

Looking beyond environmental governance, Benjamin said China and Brazil have expanded cooperation from trade into law, science and technology. He praised China's rise in the electric vehicle industry, attributing it to technological innovation and effective public policy, and said environmental law will remain one of the most promising areas for bilateral cooperation because the two countries increasingly "speak the same legal vocabulary" on issues such as climate change and biodiversity.

The same emphasis on balancing development with governance also shaped discussions on artificial intelligence, another issue that drew widespread attention during the conference. The topic gained additional public attention on Sunday after news that Doubao, a popular Chinese AI app, would take its AI agent function offline on July 15, with some users welcoming the move over privacy and ethical concerns, while others expressed reluctance to lose AI agents created in the likeness of deceased relatives or public figures.

Against this backdrop, Zhang Linghan, dean of the Institute of AI Law of China University of Political Science and Law, said different jurisdictions have adopted distinct governance philosophies. While the European Union generally favors a stricter regulatory approach and the US places greater emphasis on industry-driven innovation, China's approach seeks to balance security and development while contributing practical governance solutions to the international community.

She cited China's early adoption of mandatory labeling requirements for AI-generated content and regulations governing anthropomorphic AI interaction services as examples that have attracted growing international attention. 

"While technology evolves rapidly and legislation inevitably lags behind, the law's protection of personality rights and personal information remains constant, Zhang told the Global Times.

As ASEAN has become the first destination for many Chinese AI companies expanding overseas, Zhang said that deeper legal dialogue and regulatory cooperation will be increasingly important to facilitate technological collaboration and cross-border innovation.