Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China at the end of this month to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the coastal Chinese City of Tianjin. This will be his first visit since the Galwan Valley clash between the two Asian giants.
Although geopolitical tensions remain, this visit will set the stage to reframe India-China relations. It is highly anticipated that there will be several corrections to the India-China Path. While the focus will be on trade and economy in general, negotiations on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), where the West has so far proved its dominance, is what the world will also be watching in anticipation.
Interestingly, both PM Modi and President Xi have stressed the importance of AI at various fora. In an AI summit in 2020, PM Modi stated, “AI is a tribute to human intellectual power.” Similarly, in an event, President Xi had stressed that “We must develop, control and use AI to secure the country’s future in the next technological and industrial revolution.”
This high-profile summit of the two Asian giants offers a unique chance to put aside border disputes and concentrate on determining how China, India, and the Global South will govern future AI.
Often seen as a primary productive force in ‘Industry 4.0’, AI exerts a varied and differentiated impact on various aspects of life, from healthcare and agriculture to manufacturing and education. Alongside its benefits, AI raises complex ethical, economic and geopolitical questions. Yet, much of the global AI governance agenda is being set by Western countries, through initiatives such as the OECD AI Principles, the G7’s Hiroshima AI Process, the EU AI Act, and the UN Resolution on AI.
These frameworks, while valuable, reflect the priorities of advanced economies. There is still no major AI governance framework originating from the Global South. Given their size, technological capabilities, and influence, India and China are well placed to change that.
India’s AI market is projected to reach $8 billion by 2025, growing over 40 per cent annually. Flagship initiatives like the IndiaAI Mission (2024), National Strategy for AI (2018), and AI for India 2.0 (2023) aim to democratise AI benefits, promote ethical use, and build skills for an AI-driven future. The ‘Global IndiaAI Summit’ in July 2024 brought together over 12,000 experts from 50 countries, showcasing India’s growing role in global AI governance and its active participation in the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI).
India’s approach combines inclusivity, safe and trusted AI, and sectoral applications in healthcare, agriculture, finance, and manufacturing. While challenges remain, from infrastructure gaps to a shortage of skilled professionals, India is positioning itself as a champion for equitable AI access and capacity-building across the Global South.
China, on the other hand, is a frontrunner in the AI race. Their Next-Generation AI Development Plan (2017) aims to make the country a global AI leader by 2030, with the core AI industry exceeding 1 trillion yuan (USD 140 billion). Beijing is already home to over a quarter of China’s AI enterprises.
China has developed a comprehensive governance framework, from the Beijing Consensus on AI and Education to the Governance Principles for New Generation AI, emphasising fairness, inclusivity, and security. Its Global AI Governance Initiative (2023) and Shanghai Declaration on Global AI Governance (2024) call for stronger North-South and South-South cooperation, equitable access to AI benefits, and people-centred AI development.
The recently launched Global AI Governance Action Plan (2025) sets more than ten priorities, from high-quality data access to AI safety standards, aiming to treat AI as an international public good.
Despite political mistrust and border issues, India and China have strong reasons to collaborate on AI governance, combining India’s expertise in ethical frameworks and inclusive development with China’s large-scale infrastructure and industrial capacity. Both share a Global South perspective, enabling them to push for AI rules that reflect developing nations’ realities rather than adopting Western standards wholesale. Their common goals include reducing the digital divide, promoting open and fair data sharing, building capacity in underrepresented regions, and ensuring AI advances sustainable development.
This partnership could be realised through a Bilateral AI Task Force focused on ethics, safety, and South-South technology transfer and multilingual AI applications; and co-hosting a Global South AI Forum under UN auspices to coordinate positions in global AI negotiations.
AI governance is at a formative stage, and if these two most populous nations act now, they can help ensure that solely the Global North does not dominate the emerging rules. Together, they can push for an AI order that is inclusive, diverse, and responsive to the needs of the Global South.
As the Global AI Governance is still in its nascent stage, if these two most populous nations act together now, it can be ensured that the Global North does not solely dominate the AI Governance structure and norms. While doing so, these two nations can push a Global AI order that is inclusive, diverse, and responsive to the needs of global society.
Thus, PM Modi’s visit to China should be seen not just as a diplomatic recalibration, but also as a strategic opportunity to shape the technological governance of the future. If Asia’s two giants can find common ground, they may set the terms for how AI transforms and serves humanity in the decades ahead.
Sandeep Joshi (Freelance Journalist) and Akhilesh Kumar (Research Scholar, School of International Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi