WAIC 2024 | Director General of UNIDO leads delegation to the opening ceremony, launching the UNIDO Global Alliance on AI for Industry and Manufacturing Center of Excellence

On July 4, Gerd Müller, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), led a delegation to attend the World AI Conference & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance (WAIC 2024). The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Association for Science and Technology, and the Shanghai Municipal Government. This visit also marks Gerd Müller's first visit to Shanghai since taking office as Director General.

Li Qiang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Premier Li Qiang pointed out that China has always actively embraced intelligent transformation, vigorously promoted the innovative development of artificial intelligence, and highly emphasized the governance of AI safety. China has implemented a series of pragmatic measures, released the "Global AI Governance Initiative," and proposed a resolution to strengthen international cooperation in AI capacity building at the 78th United Nations General Assembly, which was unanimously adopted. These efforts represent positive explorations and contributions of constructive ideas and solutions for the development and governance of global artificial intelligence.

Gerd Müller, Director General of UNIDO, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in AI. He highlighted UNIDO's active role in promoting the global sharing of AI development and pointed out that the UNIDO Industrial and Manufacturing AI Global Alliance (AIM-Global), established at last year's WAIC, has a clear goal: to develop and utilize AI technologies aimed at enhancing industrial competitiveness and achieving sustainable development. He stated that the gap in AI development between developed and developing countries is widening, posing increasing risks. To ensure that no one is left behind in this AI revolution, it is crucial to bridge the digital divide between countries and industries. UNIDO will collaborate with Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal Government to establish a Center of Excellence for Global Alliance on AI for Industry and Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Shanghai, aiming to bridge the intelligent divide and enable more developing countries to benefit from the dividends of AI development.

Several achievements were announced at the opening ceremony of WAIC—UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller and Minister of Industry and Information Technology of People’s Republic of China Jin Zhuanglong jointly launched the "U UNIDO Global Alliance on AI for Industry and Manufacturing Center of Excellence." The "Shanghai Declaration on Global AI Governance" was officially released, proposing a series of initiatives to promote the healthy, orderly, and safe development of global artificial intelligence. Approximately 1,000 attendees, including foreign guests such as Brazilian Supreme Federal Court President Barroso, New Development Bank President Rousseff, and representatives from international organizations, industry, academy, and research, participated in the opening ceremony.

Mr. Zou Ciyong, Deputy Director General and Managing Director of UNIDO, Manuel Mattiat, Head of the Director General’s Office, Mr. Zhao Jie, Chief of UNIDO GLO/RFO/ASP, Stephen Kargbo, Representative of UNIDO CRO, Ms. Zhao Xiaolei, Head of UNIDO ITPO Shanghai and Ms. Zhang Chuyi, Junior Professional Officer of TCS/DAI attended the opening ceremony of the conference.