Author：CAI Cuihong, ZHANG Luyao
Abstract：With the rapid development and global deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), regional organizations have exhibited distinctly different cooperation models when addressing this common challenge. This study analyzes how the dual characteristics of AI technology generate diffusion–strategic tensions, complexity–timeliness tensions, and competitiveness–inclusiveness tensions in regional cooperation.We find that regional organizations face a structural “trilemma”: they cannot simultaneously alleviate all three tensions and can only choose to prioritize one, which inevitably leads to the amplification of other tensions through conduction effects. This dynamic ultimately results in specific combinations of external responsiveness, internal cohesion dynamics, and systemic effectiveness.In practice, ASEAN adopts a flexible collaborative cooperation model, the European Union chooses a centralized regulatory cooperation model, and the Gulf Cooperation Council implements a public-oriented cooperation model. This differentiation—shaped by the specific tension each organization seeks to alleviate—reflects the adaptive strategies of regional organizations in the AI era and signals the entry of global AI governance into a new phase characterized by multiple centers and standards.Looking ahead, regional organizations should choose appropriate cooperation models based on their own characteristics while enhancing mutual learning and experience exchange. Under the premise of maintaining model diversity, they should gradually establish common governance principles to ultimately form a global AI governance framework that balances regional adaptability with international coordination.
Keywords：artificial intelligence governance; regional cooperation; regional integration; geopolitics
Journal：Journal of Tongji University (Social Science Edition), (4).
Publish date：2025/8/25
