China Releases the International Action Plan for AI Ethics Governance

On July 17, at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and HighLevel Meeting on Global AI Governance held in Shanghai, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other relevant parties released the "International Action Plan for AI Ethics Governance." The plan aims to provide global AI governance with a framework that is both principled and operational. Focusing on ethical governance across the entire AI lifecycle, risk classification and tiered prevention and control, the development of agile governance mechanisms, and the cultivation of a coordinated industrial chain ecosystem, the action plan calls on countries to strengthen policy coordination and practical cooperation in line with their own conditions, and to advance international collaboration based on the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. The document also proposes supporting the United Nations in playing the main channel role in global AI governance, and enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries in related governance; at the same time, it emphasizes strengthening transparency, interpretability, and risk prevention and control in areas such as data collection, algorithm design, system deployment, and use, so as to avoid the misuse, abuse, and malicious use of technology.