Artificial intelligence is a key factor for strategic and geopolitical competition. The global powers’ efforts to achieve world leadership in artificial intelligence have been accompanied by international outreach to promote their products, standards, and policies in the sector. The fear of falling behind in this disruptive technology is a particularly significant challenge.

China is particularly active in terms of both business development and regulation. With an immense base of data, successful tech companies, a large pool of talents, and a new set of regulations, China is indeed one of the protagonists of this global race.

This informal talk will be an opportunity for prominent speakers, both in Beijing and connected from across the world, to exchange views on the specificities of Chinese artificial intelligence ecosystem compared to the West and on their global consequences. They will be discussing the main challenges for China’s AI development, how the country supports it internally and internationally, and how does it affect Europe and the rest of the world.

Program:

1. Opening remarks by the Ambassador of the European Union to China, Jorge Toledo Albiñana, and by the Ambassador of Spain to China, Rafael Dezcallar de Mazarredo
2. Panel discussion moderated by Ester Cañada Amela, Business Manager for European Affairs, EUCCC

1. Scene-setting by Juha Heikkilä, Adviser for Artificial Intelligence, DG Connect, European Commission
2. Speakers:
   • Yi Zeng, Professor and Director of Brain-inspired Cognitive AI Lab, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China and Member of the UN AI Advisory Board
   • Kai JIA, tenured associate professor in the School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiaotong University & non-resident research fellow of the Institute for AI International Governance of Tsinghua University
   • Alicia García Herrero, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
   • Nuria Oliver, Director of Research in Data, Vodafone & Chief Data Scientist, Data-Pop Alliance