Wang Yi Meets with Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society John L. Thornton and The New York Times Columnist Thomas L. Friedman

On October 23, 2026, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Xiong’an New Area, Hebei with Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society John L. Thornton and The New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, who are in China to attend the 2026 Global Governance Forum (Xiong’an).

Wang Yi commended John L. Thornton and Thomas L. Friedman for their positive efforts over the years to promote the development of China-U.S. relations. Wang Yi stated that the world is currently confronted with multiple governance deficits in areas including peace, development and security. In September 2025, President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Governance Initiative, which provided an important public good for the world and received wide recognition and support from the international community. Today, by hosting the Global Governance Forum in Xiong’an New Area, China hopes to pool consensus from various parties and jointly promote the reform of the global governance system. We look forward to your contributions to the success of the forum.

John L. Thornton and Thomas L. Friedman expressed congratulations on President Xi Jinping’s successful visit to the United States, saying that stability is at the core of building a constructive U.S.-China relationship of strategic stability, and that the greatest risk to achieving stability is the malicious use of AI. They hope that the two countries will enhance cooperation on AI and provide important public goods for the world. The international community is paying close attention to the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting hosted by China, and expects that China will take this opportunity to play a unique and positive role in tackling global challenges.

Wang Yi stated that China maintains that AI development should be inclusive, beneficial, for the positive and for good. As countries at the forefront of AI, China and the U.S. have both the capability and the responsibility to jointly develop and govern AI well, ensuring that its development remains under human control and benefits the people. We should not only guard against risks but also engage in cooperation to jointly discuss globally applicable rules and standards so that AI serves to promote common prosperity and safeguard common security.