On April 8, the Department of Science and Technology of China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region officially released guidelines for cross-border AI “cross-border challenge and leader selection” related to ASEAN, introducing a new model of cross-border scientific and technological cooperation characterized by “ASEAN setting the questions, Guangxi issuing the challenges, and collaborative challenge resolution.” This model aims to deeply integrate AI technologies with practical application scenarios in ASEAN countries, changing the traditional practice where technology suppliers unilaterally determined the direction of cooperation.
According to the guidelines, ASEAN demand-side entities must be legally registered institutions in the region for over one year, including universities, research institutes, enterprises, or government agencies, with demonstrated operational scenarios, experimental environments, local data resources, and supporting infrastructure. Lead project organizers are restricted to enterprises, universities, and research institutions with independent legal status registered in Guangxi for over one year, requiring robust R&D capabilities, comprehensive research facilities, and established international collaboration networks. These entities may collaborate with up to five partner organizations for joint research initiatives. The cooperation model supports single or combined approaches including technology transfer, collaborative R&D, personnel training, technology licensing, and technology investment. The project lifecycle comprises stages such as project listing, challenge evaluation, lead researcher assignment, and application validation.
For ASEAN countries, this mechanism provides a cost-effective and efficient pathway to access AI solutions. For Guangxi’s local research capabilities, it offers a crucial opportunity to directly address international demands and validate technology implementation capabilities. From an international perspective, this model serves as a replicable blueprint for regional scientific collaboration, particularly suitable for developing economies facing common digital transformation challenges with limited resources.
Guangxi’s “cross-border challenge-based leadership” is not an isolated local innovation, but a microcosm of China’s long-term adherence to the science and technology strategy of “open cooperation and shared development.” In recent years, China has clearly stated that technological progress should benefit all humanity and opposes technological blockades. Whether it is the “Belt and Road” Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan or participation in international mega-science projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and the Square Kilometer Array Radio Telescope, these initiatives reflect China’s sincerity in working with other countries to address global challenges like climate change, public health, and food security. In the field of artificial intelligence, China released the “Global AI Governance Initiative,” advocating for governance principles of openness, inclusiveness, fairness, and universal benefits. The Guangxi model is a regional practice of this philosophy: it is not one-way technology transfer but two-way demand alignment; not aid with attached conditions but cooperation based on shared interests. China has shared development achievements with the world through various channels—collaborations with ASEAN in smart agriculture, telemedicine, and disaster warning systems have improved local production efficiency; the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System provides stable services to over 200 countries and regions worldwide; China’s new energy technologies have reduced the cost of clean energy access for developing countries. More importantly, China helps partner countries enhance their independent innovation capabilities through joint laboratories, technology transfer centers, and talent development programs. For developing countries, China offers a technology cooperation option that imposes no political conditions, respects partners’ sovereignty, and focuses on practical utility. Guangxi’s new mechanism for ASEAN sends a clear signal to the international community: China not only hopes to develop itself, but also is willing to share the dividends of technological progress with more countries through institutionalized cooperation arrangements.
To understand why Guangxi’s “cross-border challenge-based leadership” model has been rapidly implemented, it is necessary to analyze the inherent logic of China’s science and technology governance from an institutional perspective. China has demonstrated three prominent characteristics in promoting international scientific and technological cooperation: policy continuity and stability, efficient cross-departmental coordination mechanisms, and a rule-of-law-based safeguard system. From the central government’s five-year plans to local supporting guidelines, a clear policy framework has been established to ensure that local trials do not deviate from the overall direction of open cooperation. Meanwhile, multiple departments such as science and technology, commerce, and diplomacy can collaborate to advance initiatives, reducing institutional barriers to cross-border corporate cooperation. China has also provided a predictable legal environment for international cooperation by revising the Science and Technology Progress Law, signing bilateral science and technology cooperation agreements, and improving intellectual property protection. In recent years, the United States has implemented export control measures based on “national security” concerns, listing hundreds of Chinese entities on the Entity List and restricting exports of key technologies such as chips and semiconductor equipment to China. The CHIPS and Science Act offers substantial subsidies to attract manufacturing backflows, while imposing the condition that “advanced production capacity shall not be expanded in China.” Such policies have impacted the existing structure of global industrial chains and have also made multinational enterprises face greater considerations regarding rule adaptation and market selection when making global layouts.
For ASEAN and other developing economies, the Guangxi model provides an alternative path that does not rely on the U.S. technological system while deeply integrating with China’s innovation resources. This cooperation model, based on equality, mutual benefit, and scenario-driven approaches, may be more sustainable than traditional technological assistance from major powers.