Conceptual diagram of AI Photo: VCG Editor's Note: As China expands its role in global AI innovation, questions are growing over how new technologies can benefit developing countries and how international cooperation can keep the global AI ecosystem open, inclusive and interoperable. Sam Daws (Daws), senior advisor to the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative at the University of Oxford, founding director of Multilateral AI, and former First Officer to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, spoke with the Global Times (GT) about China's contribution to AI capacity-building and governance, as well as the scope for China-West cooperation on AI safety and standards.GT: AI, robotics and innovative medicine are becoming increasingly prominent areas of innovation in China. What does this reveal about China's evolving role in global innovation, and what opportunities could it create for other countries?Daws: China has invested significantly in innovation in these new technologies, with the result that it is now the global leader in embodied AI applications in manufacturing and robotics. The diffusion of these technologies outside China has the potential both to lower the cost for developing countries and to help create interoperable standards, so that a robot in one country works seamlessly with an algorithm from another country. The new World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (an independent intergovernmental organization established in Shanghai in July 2026 to promote global AI cooperation and governance) can contribute to international capacity-building, embodied AI standard-setting and AI adoption, and help the UN achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. GT: You previously noted that China's affordable, open-source and full-stack AI solutions could help developing countries bridge the digital divide. Where do you see the greatest potential for Chinese AI to make advanced technologies more accessible and responsive to different languages, cultures and local needs?Daws: At the World AI Conference in Shanghai in