Chinese envoy urges efforts to oppose technological hegemony

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) and president of the UN Security Council for May, on Monday called for efforts to oppose technological hegemony and to give special attention to the use of emerging technologies in armed conflicts.

"Unilateralism, protectionism and technological hegemony should be firmly opposed. We need to uphold international fairness and justice, promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation, and avoid blockades and barriers to technology," Zhang told an Arria-formula meeting on "the Impact of Emerging Technologies on International Peace and Security," co-hosted by the permanent UN missions of China, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

"We need to promote innovation-driven development, and comprehensively improve the development and application of science and technology in all countries to narrow the digital divide," said Zhang, who chaired the meeting, which was the first ever Arria-formula meeting on emerging technologies.

"All countries must be fully engaged in the process of global technological development, to ensure that the advances in science and technology benefit all, especially the developing countries. We need to strengthen capacity building through the application of emerging technologies to raise all countries' capability to fight the pandemic, tackle climate change, and maintain food, energy and data security," said Zhang.

"We need to create favorable conditions to encourage healthy competition and prevent the monopoly on technology. All countries should pursue open development, and meet the challenges in the process of development," the ambassador added.

Zhang called for efforts to strengthen global governance to better regulate the development and application of emerging technologies. "We should practice multilateralism, encourage active participation of multiple stakeholders, and increase dialogue and cooperation to jointly formulate international norms and rules on emerging technologies."

The envoy urged efforts to fully recognize the potential risks and challenges of emerging technologies to better maintain international peace and security.

"We must prevent emerging technologies from falling into the hands of terrorist groups or being used to spread disinformation and hate speech. It is necessary to strengthen the use of emerging technologies in UN peacekeeping operations," he said.

He voiced hope for strengthened coordination to support the central role of the UN.

"The UN should pay more attention to emerging technologies, and further study and explore the establishment of a democratic, transparent, and inclusive framework for international cooperation and governance from the perspectives of peace, development and security," he added.

Arria-formula meeting is a flexible and informal mechanism for Security Council members to exchange views with UN member states and interested parties on issues of common concern.