SCO members pledge to accelerate cooperation on AI technology application

The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have pledged to accelerate their cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) technology as they recently unveiled a plan on building an AI application center at the 2025 China-SCO AI cooperation forum in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

The China-SCO Member States AI Application Cooperation Center Construction Plan also made proposals on talent cultivation, enhanced industrial cooperation, and improved cooperation on the provision of open-source services.

Themed "Intelligence Converges in China, Wisdom Benefits SCO", the forum, which was held on Thursday in Tianjin, aimed at boosting practical AI development and governance cooperation between China and the SCO member states. "Perhaps very soon, high technology and artificial intelligence will be applied in all fields of our life. So, it is no surprise that we attach great importance to this," said Oleg Kopylov, SCO deputy secretary general.

"Under China’s vision, we can do joint efforts on research and development when it comes to AI. For example, on synthetic data, how to generate synthetic data, how to apply synthetic data, and how can AI models be optimized by including synthetic data. So, there's much more room to grow together," said Azizjon Azimi, chair of the Artificial Intelligence Council of Tajikistan's Ministry of Industry and New Technologies.

"China has the most patents in the world of artificial intelligence. That goes a long way to show. The AI applications of next year, two years, three years from now are actually being done in China today. And we hope that what we're doing on synthetic data, on generative AI models using synthesis algorithms could be further expanded upon together with our counterparties in China," Azimi said.

In the exhibition area of the forum, many Chinese technology companies, including the intelligent speech giant iFLYTEK, showcased their new products to seek opportunities for cooperation.

"Through the iFlytek open platform, we provide various application scenarios for development partners in the industry, covering the areas of enterprise informatization, education, medical care, media and many others. Many partners have created a variety of applications based on our iFLYTEK SPARK Large Model," said Jiang Tao, senior vice president of iFLYTEK Group.

Many participants of the forum said the AI cooperation among the SCO member states will benefit the life for all.

"When I walk around, I see lots of developments and new technologies implemented in the day-to-day life of people, which is really, really impressive. I think AI and technology basically illustrate the implementation by making people's life easier, smooth and convenient," said Grigory Borisenko, deputy minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of Russia.

SCO members pledge to accelerate cooperation on AI technology application

China has expanded its zero-tariff treatment to 63 countries, implementing regulatory measures and green channels to boost bilateral trade, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, GAC head Sun Meijun outlined China's targeted regulatory measures to facilitate the implementation of the zero-tariff policy.

"We have advanced the effective implementation of policies for voluntary and unilateral opening up. In May this year, China fully implemented its zero-tariff policy for African countries with which it has diplomatic ties. We have formulated a regulatory framework to implement the zero-tariff policy, innovated a management system based on risk classification and grading, adopted facilitation measures such as agenda-based access, and expanded green channels for agricultural and food products entering China," Sun said.

The zero-tariff policy has already yielded significant results, with bilateral trade experiencing strong momentum, according to the official.

"In the first half of this year, imports and exports between China and Africa grew by 19.6 percent. Currently, the number of countries benefiting from China's zero-tariff treatment has reached 63. We will continue to implement high-level economic and trade agreements, and strengthen the alignment and connection of customs procedures, inspection and quarantine, as well as rules of origin," Sun added.

Starting from May 1, 2026, China has expanded its zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries with diplomatic ties. It has already scrapped tariffs on 100 percent of tariff lines for 33 least developed countries in Africa since Dec 1, 2024.

China's zero-tariff measures cover 63 countries: official