On 9 September, at the invitation of Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the Embassy’s Minister Qin Zhanpeng attended and addressed a launch ceremony at the university for the new book Deploying Artificial Intelligence to Achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Close to 100 attendees were present, including representatives from the UNDP, the South African government and enterprises, think tanks, and the academia.

Minister Qin extended warm congratulations to Professor Mpedi and UJ’s Institute for the Future of Knowledge on the book's release. He noted that the development and governance of AI is a pressing challenge calling for efforts of all countries. China has made AI development a national priority, and stands ready to strengthen global governance and international cooperation on AI with all countries. In 2023, President Xi Jinping put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative, calling for an open, inclusive, fair, and safe AI environment that benefits all. During the 2025 World AI Conference in Shanghai, Premier Li Qiang announced that the Chinese government proposed the creation of a global AI cooperation organization, providing a platform to enhance global governance and international cooperation in the field of AI. China welcomes South Africa and other countries with an interest to engage in the preparatory process of establishing the organization, which will be open and inclusive.