by Ambassador of China to Ukraine Ma Shengkun
At present, the digital intelligent technologies, represented by artificial intelligence (AI), are advancing rapidly, profoundly reshaping models of economic production worldwide and the structure of global governance. Meanwhile, the deficit in global cyber governance is widening.
Some countries are pursuing technological hegemony, engaging in over-securitization and exclusionary arrangements, forcing other countries to take sides, and deliberately severing global digital and intelligent industrial and supply chains. Numerous developing countries are confronted with the challenges of a widening digital divide with their right to development being increasingly constrained.
In the face of the opportunities and challenges of the digital intelligent age, China, guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future in cyberspace, has formally put forward the important principle of “digital sovereignty” on the basis of cyber sovereignty.
In July 2026, the first meeting of the UN Global Mechanism on ICTs in the Context of International Security was held at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Chinese delegation submitted China’s Position Paper on Global Cyber Governance in the Digital Intelligent Age, putting forward in a systematic manner the important principle of “digital sovereignty” at the United Nations for the first time. Also in July, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote address at the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance.
He noted that AI encapsulates humanity’s collective wisdom and should serve as an international public good for the benefit of all humanity. He called on the international community to practice true multilateralism and join hands to build a just and equitable system for global AI governance. China’s solution for the digital intelligent age points the way forward for global cyber governance and is of great practical significance for promoting the development of the digital intelligent technologies for good and upholding international fairness and justice.
Upholding the principle of digital sovereignty is an extension of the principle of respect for national sovereignty into cyberspace. The digital intelligent technologies have become deeply integrated into all areas of economic, social and security affairs in all countries. Data, algorithms and AI products have become key factors affecting national development and security.
Sovereign boundaries have naturally extended into the digital space. The essence of digital sovereignty is that countries should respect each other’s digital sovereignty and have the right to independently choose, in light of their respective national conditions, their paths of digital intelligent technology development as well as the technologies, products and services they use, free from external interference or coercion. No country should be forced to take sides.
The principle of digital sovereignty advocates openness and universal benefits based on fair competition, and rejects over-securitization, technological monopoly and exclusionary arrangements, as well as the pursuit of digital intelligent hegemony. It is not about isolation or exclusion, but about openness and cooperation on the basis of sovereign equality.
Upholding the principle of digital sovereignty is essential to safeguard world peace and the international order. The dividends of the digital intelligent age should not become the privilege of a few countries and, moreover, should not be used as a tool for certain countries to endanger international peace and undermine the international order.
China has consistently stood for the idea that all countries should jointly oppose acts of aggression through cyber means, prevent and avoid cyber arms races, and refrain from sabotaging the critical infrastructure of other countries through cyber means. The development of AI should not erode or undermine the diversity of world civilizations.
We must shape the values of AI with humanity’s common values, promote the establishment of a multidimensional system for AI governance and oversight, oppose overstretching the concept of national security, and place cooperation on AI capacity building high on the agenda of global governance.
Upholding the principle of digital sovereignty is a cornerstone for bridging the digital divide and safeguarding the rights to development and security of Global South countries. In the digital intelligent age, development opportunities coexist with technological barriers. Once developing countries lose the right to make independent choices in the digital sphere, they risk becoming technologically dependent, leaving their economic security, industrial development and cultural values exposed to external risks.
Respect for digital sovereignty means that developing countries have the right to independently choose technologies and should not be forced to take sides between different technology blocs.
They should be able to choose AI products and solutions in light of their respective national conditions, pursue development paths suited to their own realities, and reject standards and models imposed from outside. The principle of digital sovereignty explicitly prohibits the use of cyber means to sabotage the critical infrastructure of other countries, providing important guidance for developing countries in strengthening their defenses against cybersecurity risks.
China is taking concrete actions to uphold the principle of digital sovereignty. President Xi Jinping has announced that in the next five years, China will provide developing countries with 5,000 opportunities in AI training and seminar programs, helping Global South countries strengthen their overall capacities in AI innovation, application and governance.
China has proposed the establishment of global standards and system for testing and assessing the risk levels of AI large models, while promoting cooperation on cross-border data flows and the development of relevant global rules.
These efforts will help establish a scientific, transparent and inclusive framework of standards and norms, facilitate mutual recognition of standards among countries, and lower the costs and thresholds of international cooperation. Chinese AI companies are actively putting the principle of inclusive development into practice, with a number of large AI models released as open source, providing countries around the world with more affordable alternatives.
China and Ukraine are strategic partners, and the principle of digital sovereignty opens up new prospects for cooperation between the two countries. Ukraine has a solid foundation in digital transformation and longstanding strengths in software development and IT professionals cultivation, with significant potential for the application of digital technologies and AI.
China has a complete AI industrial system and a vast range of application scenarios.
The two countries are highly complementary and have great potential for cooperation. China is ready to work with Ukraine, within the framework of the principle of digital sovereignty and in the spirit of mutual respect and pragmatic, mutually beneficial cooperation, to strengthen cooperation on AI capacity-building, enhance coordination and collaboration on multilateral platforms such as the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, and jointly uphold multilateralism and international fairness and justice.
