The 2025 China-Germany Human Rights Development Forum was held in Beijing on Thursday, bringing together 30 experts from both countries to discuss aligning international development cooperation with humanitarian assistance either online or in person.
Amid rising global challenges, participants called for genuine multilateralism and development-driven solutions to address the root causes of crises and strengthen global human rights governance.
"The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025 shows that 800 million people around the world still live in extreme poverty, and billions of people are in want of safe drinking water and hygiene services. The advancement of human rights worldwide faces severe challenges, urgently requiring the international community to unite in addressing them. As the world's second and third largest economies and major countries in the world, China and Germany should all the more shoulder greater responsibilities," said Li Hongkui, vice chairman and secretary general of China Foundation for Human Rights Development.
Herta Daubler-Gmelin, former German minister of justice, attended the forum via video link.
Humanitarian aid and development cooperation are two pillars of global solidarity, she said, adding that development assistance strengthens resilience and capacity in recipient countries.
The forum was hosted by the China Foundation for Human Rights Development and the Germany Friedrich Albert Foundation.
Since launching dialog in 1999, the two institutions have built a long-term partnership, jointly hosting multiple forums to deepen mutual understanding and people-to-people exchanges.
China-Germany Human Rights Development Forum held in Beijing
China-Germany Human Rights Development Forum held in Beijing
Zhou Hongyi, founder of Chinese cybersecurity giant Qihoo 360 and a member of China’s top political advisory body, has stressed the need to harness artificial intelligence (AI) to confront mounting security threats in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
As a member to the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Zhou placed "AI plus” security at the core of his proposals to this year's "two sessions," which convene this week, framing it as China's frontline strategy for strengthening cybersecurity.
The "two sessions" are the yearly meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the CPPCC, which serve five-year terms and convene each March. The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively.
Expanding on the "AI plus" security agenda, Zhou said it would enable China to simulate cyberattacks, uncover weaknesses, and deploy digital agents across industries, measures he sees as vital to safeguarding enterprises in the AI era.
"This year I would like to first focus on 'AI plus' security, which means we must use AI's abilities to solve traditional security issues. For example we can simulate an attack to an enterprise's network, identifying its vulnerabilities and then fix them. Secondly, I think AI agents would be a key factor for 'AI plus' to be truly implemented into various industries, because large models have their own limits. Only by transforming large models into AI agents, and into digital experts and digital interns, can it be integrated with the business of enterprises," Zhou said.
Turning to the humanoid robots showcased at this year's Spring Festival Gala, Zhou said their appearance highlighted China's rapid progress in robotics and signaled that the era of intelligent machines is approaching.
"I am not surprised. I feel quite lucky I didn't do boxing with those robots on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, because I don't think I can hit them. I think China's robots manufacturing industry has seen huge progress over the past year. On the other hand, I think that show also reflects our country's industrial strategy, which is sending us a signal that an era of robots is coming. How shall we empower our enterprises through AI? That's a question our entrepreneurs and investors need to think about," he said.
As China embarks on its 15th Five-Year Plan in 2026, Zhou projects that the continued development of AI will drive substantial demand in key sectors, such as energy, raw materials, and chips.
"First I think energy, as well as some of the raw materials that can align with the development of computing power would see huge progress. The chips industry will also be developed. I think China needs more inference chips. And there would also be a huge demand for electricity," he said.
This year marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period, spanning from 2026 to 2030, a period widely seen as pivotal for the country's long-term development. The plan is expected to be formally endorsed by the NPC during the "two sessions" with more detailed targets released later.
CPPCC member calls for AI-driven defenses to safeguard enterprises amid rising cyber threats
