Global AI Governance Workshop: Domestic and International Perspectives

The Global AI Governance Workshop: Domestic and International Perspectives was held on the afternoon of March 10, 2026, in Room 402 of the Think Tank Building at Fudan University. Jointly organized by the Safe AI Forum (SAIF), the Center for Global AI Innovative Governance (CGAIG), and the Center for AI and Politics Studies at Tongji University, with support from the Fudan Development Institute (FDDI) and the Shanghai Association for AI and Social Development (SAASD), the workshop brought together nearly twenty experts and scholars from Chinese and international institutions, universities, and research organizations.

The opening session featured remarks by Professor Zhang Yi, Deputy Director of CGAIG and Executive Dean of FDDI; Fynn Heide, Executive Director of SAIF; and Professor Lu Chuanying, Associate Dean of the School of Political Science and International Relations at Tongji University. On behalf of CGAIG and FDDI, Professor Zhang welcomed Heide and his delegation before giving a brief overview of the two institutions’ research. Heide followed with an outline of SAIF’s research priorities and ongoing work, expressing his expectation for deeper exchanges and cooperation with Chinese experts and scholars. Professor Lu then provided a brief analysis of the current international landscape of AI governance, with particular emphasis on the necessity and urgency of further promoting academic dialogue and cooperation between Chinese and international scholars.

During the discussion, experts and scholars exchanged views on global AI governance from both domestic and international perspectives, centering on three topics: Domestic Regulation of Frontier AI, International AI Agreements and Coordination, and Collaboration Brainstorm and Next Steps.

Professor Lu Chuanying moderated the session. Emmie Hine, Research Fellow at SAIF, and Li Wenlong of Zhejiang University’s Guanghua Law School, a research professor in the university’s “Hundred Talents Program”, delivered guiding remarks on the topic from international and Chinese perspectives, respectively.

Hine examined the major issues currently shaping global frontier AI governance and offered policy recommendations for China’s regulation of frontier AI. Li then compared AI regulatory frameworks in China and the United States, drawing on cases involving AI-generated content authentication, AI companions, and AI training to explore common ground across jurisdictions and possible forms of international cooperation. Participants subsequently discussed convergences and divergences in national approaches to frontier AI regulation, explored areas of tractable alignment, and identified key issues requiring further study.

The session was moderated by Saad Siddiqui, Senior AI Policy Researcher at SAIF. Guiding remarks on international AI governance were delivered by Megan Cansfield, Ben Norman, and Sabrina Shih, Visiting Researchers at SAIF; Professor Shen Yi, Director of the International Research Institute of Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University; and Li Hui, Research Fellow and Director of the Research Department of Science, Technology and Society at SISS.

Megan Cansfield and Ben Norman set out the key elements and taxonomy of international AI agreements, arguing that governance mechanisms should be tailored to different categories of AI risk. Sabrina Shih focused on frontier AI verification between China and the United States, and presented three verification paradigms—oversight-based, proof-based, and infrastructure-based—along with corresponding policy recommendations. Professor Shen Yi examined China’s AI governance strategy and practice in domestic and global contexts, and shared the country’s achievements and contributions in recent years. Drawing on global expert perspectives from 2019, 2020, and 2025, Li Hui analyzed realistic pathways toward building broader consensus on AI governance.

This was followed by extensive discussions on forms of international coordination that may be feasible for both China and its international counterparts, the major obstacles standing in the way of further progress, and diplomatic opportunities and multilateral forums in 2026 that may create more space for cooperation. Gao Qiqi, Research Fellow at CGAIG and Professor at Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs, expressed concern over the potential risks posed by artificial general intelligence (AGI) and stressed the urgent need for global AI governance, calling on all countries to treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves.