Cui Tiankai (L) and Li Cheng (R) speak at a fireside chat at the GBA Roundtable: Building a New Paradigm for AI Governance in Shenzhen on November 7, 2026.
Treating artificial intelligence with a "foolish attitude of fear, suspicion and confrontation" is "absurd" and "pathetic," Cui Tiankai, China's former ambassador to the United States, said in Shenzhen on November 7.
Cui made the remarks when asked about China-U.S. AI competition by Li Cheng, founding director of the Center for Contemporary China and the World (CCCW) at the University of Hong Kong, during a fireside chat at the GBA Roundtable: Building a New Paradigm for AI Governance. The event was co-hosted by CCCW and the Shenzhen Loop Area Institute.
"Artificial intelligence is a highly intelligent field. To treat this cutting-edge field with such a foolish attitude of fear, suspicion and confrontation, isn't that a joke?" he said.
Cui used tableware as a metaphor. Chinese people eat with chopsticks while Americans eat with knives and forks, he said, so it is impossible for China to take the bread out of Americans' mouths.
"China's development has made the global economic cake bigger, and then America, with its superior knife and fork skills, quickly took the largest slice," he added.
He said it is normal for all countries to want to develop better and faster. While some competition is inevitable, he cited an old saying that cooperation benefits both sides while confrontation harms both, adding that history offers lessons on this. He asked why AI could not be based primarily on cooperation.
In his keynote speech, titled "Geopolitical Shifts and Artificial Intelligence Governance," Cui described AI as a promising new field and put forward three proposals for AI governance in the Asia-Pacific region.
Cui Tiankai delivers his keynote speech at the GBA Roundtable: Building a New Paradigm for AI Governance in Shenzhen on November 7, 2026.
First, he called for upholding the principle of AI for good. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region is home to some 40 percent of the world's population, generates over 60 percent of global GDP and nearly half of global trade, and has an internet penetration rate of almost 90 percent, he noted.
Cui said developing and applying AI and improving its governance in such a vast region is crucial for the region itself and of paramount importance to the world.
If the Asia-Pacific region takes the lead in upholding AI for good, he said, it will benefit billions of people in the region and offer guidance for AI development and governance worldwide.
Second, he called for building on the advantages of cooperation. Over the more than 30 years since its founding, APEC has weathered natural disasters, financial crises and a global pandemic, navigating various risks and challenges and making progress that has garnered worldwide attention, he said.
Cui attributed this to members' consistent efforts to promote regional economic integration in line with global trends, expand common interests based on mutual respect, build consensus through consultation, handle differences properly and keep regional cooperation open.
"While AI may bring new challenges, the trend of human social development and progress has not been reversed, the common aspirations of the people of the Asia-Pacific region have not diminished, and the necessity and urgency of strengthening cooperation have become even more prominent," he added.
Third, he called for inclusive and integrated development. APEC members vary widely in economic size, stage of development and industrial structure, he noted. In science and technology, some members have long held leading positions, while others are striving to catch up. In AI, some are at the forefront globally, while others are just beginning.
Cui said AI development in the Asia-Pacific region should benefit all members and promote common progress, and that AI governance should address the needs of all members through broad participation and collaborative governance.
Cui also highlighted the rich cultural diversity across APEC members, where Eastern and Western civilizations meet and Mayan and Melanesian cultures converge. If AI empowers the economy and technology with its intelligence, he said, the achievements of human civilization should in turn endow AI with wisdom.
"The key to this wisdom lies in maintaining and utilizing the diversity of world civilizations and the uniqueness of national cultures, achieving inclusiveness, mutual learning and exchange. The Asia-Pacific region is arguably the most in need of and best positioned to do so," he added.
Reporter | Zhang Ruijun
Photos | Shenzhen Loop Area Institute
