Thematic Forum II “Young Leaders’ Solutions: Technology and AI Addressing Global Challenges”@ GYLD Annual Forum 2025
November 19 , 2025Themed “Decoding the Future with Young Minds,” the Global Young Leaders Dialogue Annual Forum 2025 was successfully held in Beijing’s Haidian District from November 18 to 20. The event was hosted by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), co-organized by the Secretariat of the Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) program, and supported by the Haidian District Human Resources Bureau and the Haidian District Foreign Affairs Office. The Annual Forum featured two thematic forums, titled “Young Leaders’ Strategies: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems” and “Young Leaders’ Solutions: Technology and AI Addressing Global Challenges.”
During the second thematic forum, speakers shared insights on key questions such as “how can young leaders leverage technology and AI to tackle global challenges?” and “why must the international community develop shared standards for AI—and which priorities should come first?” The speakers agreed that for technology to truly serve the global public good, AI governance must be grounded in ethics, fairness, and transparency. They emphasized the need to strengthen cross-border and cross-sector collaboration mechanisms in major areas including climate change and energy transition, while also expanding meaningful youth participation in global governance. The panel concluded that a global technology collaboration network centered on young talent is becoming an important driving force for sustainable development and international cooperation.
Video | Thematic Forum II “Young Leaders’ Solutions: Technology and AI Addressing Global Challenges”
The following Chinese and English summaries of speakers’ remarks are for reference only; please refer to the video for the accurate content.
Inspirer
ZHANG Yunqi (China), Vice President, Huajian Group
Ms. ZHANG Yunqi shared her family experience, explaining how her father, a Chinese private entrepreneur who grew up after China’s reform and opening-up, recognized similarities between Africa’s current development stage and China’s early years and chose to improve local livelihoods through industrial investment. She noted that her family enterprise has built industrial parks in Africa, creating more than 20,000 jobs, 75 percent of which are held by women. She emphasized that China’s peace, security, and development enable Chinese enterprises to both contribute globally and shoulder greater responsibility. Quoting President Xi Jinping’s words “China can only do well when the world is doing well. When China does well, the world will get even better,” she stressed that in the face of global challenges such as climate change, public health, technological ethics, and uneven development, humanity is not made up of isolated individuals but a community with a shared future.
Senior Expert
AN Shuo (China), Co-founder and General Manager, Huasheng Technology Group
Ms. AN Shuo shared her experience as an entrepreneur working across multiple climate-related sectors, including solid waste recycling, EV charging forecasting, and green buildings. She noted that many climate technologies were once limited to laboratories or small pilot projects, but are now becoming economically viable at industrial scale. She emphasized that AI and simulation tools can significantly accelerate this transition by reducing reliance on costly pilot stages and enabling faster, more confident scaling. In her view, AI will increasingly play a critical role in turning climate innovation into real-world, scalable solutions.
Senior Expert
Ali Al-ASSAM (Iraq), Managing Director, NewsSocial
Dr. Ali Al-ASSAM introduced the Iraqi Memory Project, which aims to help the Iraqi society fragmented by prolonged wars and occupations to build consensus by digitizing the country’s century-long history. The project is jointly developed by a technical cooperative, the Ministry of Higher Education, Huawei, and other partners, with plans for implementation across more than 100 universities nationwide. Its content is co-created by circles composed of the public, experts, and students, and is guided by a consensus-based governance model to ensure accountability and shared responsibility. A distinctive feature of the project is the integration of an AI assistant known as “CARE,” which participates in the process as a collaborative partner, embodying a human-centered, technology-for-good approach.
Senior Expert
Fengyun Lei, Former Counsellor for Science & Technology, Chinese Embassy in Austria; Chief Representative, Representative Office in the U.K. of the China Association for International Exchange of Personnel (CAIEP)
Mr. Lei Fengyun noted that China is at the forefront of global AI development, and that the growing trend of young talent worldwide viewing China as a partner for innovation and entrepreneurship aligns with the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind. He observed that after more than two decades of development, AI has entered human society, including the economy and other areas. Humanity has the potential to leverage AI to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, but doing so requires adopting the right mindset to embrace the new era of AI. He further pointed out that new forms of AI, such as embodied intelligence, will emerge at an accelerating pace, and that rather than focusing solely on individual capabilities and achievements, greater attention should be given to whether humanity should regard emerging intelligent agents as competitors or as partners in jointly building a new, more prosperous planetary civilization.
Young Leader
Latifa Abubakari (Ghana), AI Engineer, Beijing Two Plus One Technology Co. Ltd.
Ms. Latifa Abubakari noted that artificial intelligence has recently driven transformative change across multiple sectors worldwide, including finance. For instance, using smartphone data, AI-based credit scoring systems can replace the cumbersome procedures of traditional lending and significantly simplify access to loans. She also pointed out a significant gap in Africa’s AI natural language processing capabilities: while most AI systems support languages such as English, Chinese, French, and Spanish, coverage of African indigenous languages remains severely limited, preventing communities that rely solely on local languages from accessing AI tools—a challenge she called on young entrepreneurs to help address.
Young Leader
Muhammad Fahad BAQA (Pakistan), PhD candidate, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Mr. Muhammad Fahad Baqa noted that AI has become a core driver of innovation in aerospace research, as it can efficiently process massive data from satellite earth observation and autonomous driving, model and optimize aerospace components, and reduce R&D costs related to satellite launches by replacing expensive physical experiments with simulations. He mentioned that the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), where he works, owns SDGSAT-1 (Sustainable Development Science Satellite 1), which collects SDG-related data via AI and shares it with the UN and less developed countries annually. He finally emphasized that the widespread application of AI requires defining appropriate ethical boundaries, which are shaped by how users set and interpret their goals and purposes.
Young Leader
Alland Dharmawan (Indonesia), Research Associate, Yonsei University; Former Assistant to the Advisor to the President of Indonesia; Former Assistant to the Ambassador of Indonesia to Korea
Mr. Alland Dharmawan views climate change as an issue of inequality. Developed countries have the resources to advance climate action, while many developing countries struggle to prioritize it. Although trust in UN-led multilateral mechanisms has declined, he believes they remain the most viable framework for global cooperation. He cites Brazil’s COP30 preparations, where Indigenous communities were excluded from decision-making, as an example of how marginalized groups lack a voice in climate governance. He notes that climate technologies such as AI and carbon capture can support emissions reduction, but their high costs make them largely inaccessible to developing countries. Without proper regulation, these technologies risk creating new forms of technological colonialism and inequality. He also mentioned advising the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies to ensure that developing countries and other vulnerable groups are “not left behind” in the use of new technologies. He emphasized that the world is a community with a shared future: if any country faces development challenges, global progress as a whole will be difficult to achieve.
Young Leader
Oluwasegun Fabiyi (Nigeria), Yenching Scholar, Peking University; Fulbright Teaching Scholar, UNC Chapil Hill; Representative of Nigeria, 2023 UN General Assembly
Mr. Fabiyi noted that the global problem of out-of-school children is particularly acute in Africa. In Nigeria, girls account for around 60 percent of out-of-school children, largely due to cultural bias, poverty, and related factors. In response, he founded an educational initiative to bring learning opportunities to rural areas. He emphasized the significant gap between the Global North and South in the development of AI, pointing out that many people in Africa lack access to quality education. As a result, AI development must place greater emphasis on accessibility and inclusiveness. Given the high rates of illiteracy in many parts of Africa, he stressed the urgent need to develop AI tools in indigenous languages. He believes that promoting the localization and vernacularization of AI can enable rural people to learn various knowledge with AI, which is also the key to narrowing the digital divide.
Young Leader
Lucas Miner (United States), Yenching Scholar, Peking University
Mr. Lucas Miner acknowledged that competition between China and the United States in the AI field is an object reality, but the Yenching Academy brings together leading scholars from China, the United States, and the Global South, creating a unique environment for dialogue. The program encourages scholars to examine ethical challenges in AI from an integrated perspective, with many drawing on both Chinese and Western philosophies and technological backgrounds to explore legal, political, and ethical frameworks—frameworks that are currently lacking in global AI development. He noted that the pace of AI technological advancement far exceeds the development of corresponding evaluation and governance frameworks, posing significant risks. At the same time, he stressed that international exchange platforms can enable scholars from different countries to enhance cooperation and mutual understanding, helping to temper the narratives of intense national competition often amplified by the media.
Young Leader
Paola Morselli (Italy), Junior Research Fellow, Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Ms. Paola Moselli stated that in developing AI, the European Union seeks to strike a balance between technological innovation and the protection of citizens’ rights. The core of the EU’s AI Act lies in differentiated regulation based on risk levels, establishing regulatory frameworks in advance to guide companies and manage potential risks. She noted that the Act also aims to build public trust in AI, as a clear regulatory framework can address the public’s limited understanding of the technology and enhance its credibility. She emphasized that the Act is not necessarily a model for all regions, but can serve as a reference that countries may adapt to their own development contexts. Japan and South Korea have already drawn on parts of its risk-management approach, while many Asian countries are exploring different paths of adaptation. She further stressed that AI diplomacy is likely to become a mainstream trend in the future, as AI is closely linked to national sovereignty, security, and military applications. This, she argued, will drive greater international cooperation and may eventually lead to the establishment of a dedicated international AI institution to jointly address related challenges.
Young Leader
Ahmet Faruk ISIK (Türkiye), China Affairs Consultant at World Turkish Business Council, Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye; Associate Researcher, Italy Torino World Affairs Institute
Mr. Ahmet Faruk ISIK argued that AI should be treated as a basic public good rather than purely a commercial product. He used the analogy of AI as tap water, explaining that while water is essential and widely available, some people have clean water while others do not; some people rely on bottled water while others turn it into sugary drinks. Similarly, AI is becoming ubiquitous, but access, quality, and outcomes remain highly unequal. He noted that most AI development is driven by the private sector, which brings speed and innovation but is largely profit-oriented and often neglects humanitarian needs. He stressed that the world is still at an early stage of the AI story, making this a crucial moment to introduce regulation and ensure inclusive access. In particular, he emphasized the need to give voice to the voiceless by embedding humanitarian considerations into AI development, so that AI can better serve people facing disasters and crises rather than only commercial interests.
Moderator
Zoon Ahmed Khan (Pakistan), Research Fellow, Center for China and Globalization (CCG)
In her summary, Ms. Zoon Ahmed Khan emphasized that human perspective is irreplaceable by AI. While AI can assist, it cannot compete with human insight or empathy. She expressed hope that this uniquely human perspective will drive collaborative solutions, inspiring attendees to deepen empathy and achieve greater impact.
Moderator
Ilias Laroussi (Morocco), Founder, Beijing Eco-Hub
Mr. Ilias Laroussi concluded by emphasizing that AI, like climate change, is a universal challenge. He called for collective efforts across academia, industry, business, entrepreneurs, and NGOs to collaboratively develop solutions for AI-related issues.
The Global Young Leaders Dialogue Annual Forum 2025 received nearly 300 applications from young professionals across more than 50 countries, from which nearly 30 outstanding Young Leaders were selected. These Young Leaders came from 23 countries, including Brazil, France, Italy, Malaysia, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Russia, Singapore, the United States, and Türkiye, among others. In addition to the young delegates, the forum also brought together senior experts from international organizations, government agencies, research institutions, and leading global enterprises. They gathered in Haidian to jointly explore the future of international cooperation driven by science, technology, and innovation.
