Opening Remarks by Chinese Ambassador to Ireland Zhao Xiyuan at Conference “Sustainable Finance, AI and the Circular Economy: Pathways to a Sustainable Future”

Professor Liming Wang,
Distinguished Guests,

Good morning. It is a great honor to join you today. Thank you to Professor Liming Wang for your kind invitation, and my warmest congratulations to the Irish Institute for Chinese Studies on its 20th anniversary. We have all witnessed how this Institute has grown from a modest unit into a thriving, influential academic center.

Today’s conference’s theme is both timely and practical. Sustainable finance and the circular economy are two sides of the same coin: sustainable finance acts as the engine allocating capital, while the circular economy provides the operational framework for how that capital creates real-world value. Artificial intelligence serves as the connective layer between the two, translating complex physical data into operational actions and efficiencies.

During the past several years, we have seen explosive growth in AI applications, from translation and summarization to coding and medical diagnostics. The pace of development has transformed in a manner unseen in human history. Yet at this transformative juncture, we must ask the fundamental question: What role do we, as humanity, wish AI to play in our shared future?

Two weeks ago, a pivotal moment in answering that question took place at the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai. A landmark outcome of this meeting was the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, which is the world’s first intergovernmental international organization dedicated to AI governance.

Upholding the principle of “AI for good and for all”, World AI Cooperation Organization aims to bridge the global AI divide by supporting Global South to accelerate their AI capabilities, strengthen innovation, and ensure no nation is left behind.

World AI Cooperation Organization’s vision is backed by concrete commitments outlined in the Chair’s Statement: systematically assessing AI’s impact on employment; match computing power with green energy; and building robust technical monitoring, risk warning, and emergency response systems.

As President Xi Jinping noted, AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation. As a responsible major country, China is committed to supporting developing countries through AI capacity-building programs and joint applications in critical fields like meteorological early-warning systems. Moreover, practical innovations, such as the open source Kimi K3 model from Moonshot AI, demonstrate that openness is vital toward inclusive development.

The EU and Ireland are actively advancing practical AI applications, setting the stage for Dublin to host the International AI Summit this October to launch European AI Innovation month. Such global platforms remind us that AI demands global solidarity, not division. In this spirit, deepening AI cooperation enables both China and the EU to leverage our complementary strengths, and inject dynamic momentum into China and EU relations, while helping us balance innovation with governance, development with security, and national goals with global prosperity.

Professors in this room understand AI far better than I do. I hope today’s conference will embody that same spirit of openness, bringing together the insights of scholars from around the world, and turn these ideas into practical pathways for a sustainable, safe, and prosperous global future.

Thank you very much.