China released the "Ethical and Safety Guidelines for AI Applications 1.0" on May 19 in Nanning, Guangxi. This framework is seen as a crucial reference document for establishing ethical and safety consensus and aligning rules in the field of artificial intelligence between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Zhang Linghan, Dean of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence Law at China University of Political Science and Law, who participated in the research, shared in an interview that during exchanges with ASEAN experts, she noted their multiple concerns regarding AI development. These include the sustainability of local minority languages and cultures, the potential widening of the existing digital divide, and whether smaller nations can voice their values in global AI governance.

Zhang believes that the newly released guidelines, which emphasize "inclusive sharing" and a "people-centered approach," directly address these common concerns from countries in the Global South. She noted that many Global South nations have already expressed interest in referencing China's governance philosophy through various channels.

Fan Kefeng, Vice President of the China Electronics Standardization Institute, pointed out at the release event that with the development of new forms like intelligent agents and embodied AI, AI applications are expanding from content generation to assisting decision-making and interactive control. This expansion is making ethical and safety issues, such as job displacement and emotional dependency, increasingly prominent. The guidelines provide practical recommendations for application development, service provision, and application usage.

Currently, Guangxi is accelerating the construction of the China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Application Cooperation Center, aiming to establish a differentiated development path characterized by "R&D in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou; integration in Guangxi; and application in ASEAN."

Industry insiders indicate that as Chinese AI products and services rapidly enter ASEAN markets, these newly released ethical and safety guidelines are expected to provide technical-ethical support for mutual trust and cooperation in the digital domain between the two sides. The guidelines were issued by the National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee.