As artificial intelligence (AI) develops rapidly, experts believe that China and the United States can strengthen cooperation on shared challenges and ensure the technology can serve the well-being of the people.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that despite AI competition, China and the US have even more reasons to cooperate. In his talks with US President Donald Trump at the White House, Xi noted that the two sides should leverage respective strengths in AI rather than guarding against each other.

As two leading countries in AI, competition is inevitable, Hu Bo, a research fellow at the School of International Studies of Peking University, told CGTN.

"But the two sides also cooperate and learn a lot from each other," said Hu.

Against this backdrop, experts said the two countries could pursue practical cooperation in several areas.

Sun Chenghao, a research fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy of Tsinghua University, said the two countries could deepen cooperation mainly in four areas: AI risk assessment and safety governance, the economic and social impacts of AI, the use of AI for global public governance, and AI ethics and legal frameworks.

The two sides could work together on risk classification, assessment and management, including major AI incident reporting, cybersecurity and biological risks, and model safety evaluations, said Sun, citing shared challenges like AI agents becoming difficult to control and deepfake's impact on public trust.

As AI is also reshaping labor relations and traditional production models, greater automation could boost productivity while also creating risks of structural unemployment. Sun said cooperation in education, skills training and digital infrastructure could help people adapt to technological change.

"China and the United States taking the lead in promoting such dialogues can also offer a reference for other countries around the world," said Sun.

He said the two sides could also explore how AI can provide new solutions to global challenges, such as climate monitoring, disaster prediction, public health, and conflict warning and mediation.

The rapid development of AI also raises ethical and legal questions, including how to maintain human control over key decisions, establish basic principles for AI development and deployment, and determine responsibility when AI causes harm.

"Dialogue in these areas can help the two countries enhance mutual trust, and explore and strengthen international consensus on norms for technological development," said Sun.

Different approaches to AI governance

Public perceptions of AI governance also reflect different priorities around technology development and regulation.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that among respondents in 12 middle-income countries and regions, 43% expressed confidence in China's ability to effectively regulate AI, compared with 35% for the US and 34% for the European Union, respectively.

Sun suggested that this may be linked to China's emphasis on development rights, technology accessibility, open-source cooperation and capacity building.

Sun said that through initiatives such as establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization and cooperating under the BRICS framework on AI open-source communities, model development, and training programs, China has put the issues of AI access and participation in rule-making on the global governance agenda.

"For many developing countries, this approach, which combines development and security considerations, may more closely meet their practical needs than a focus solely on risks posed by frontier AI models," Sun added.

In addition, Hu said the differing perceptions also reflect international concerns about AI losing control, noting that China has stricter regulation and management over the risks.