APEC Nations Back Open-Source AI With Security Guardrails

APEC Embraces Open-Source AI Under Government Watch

The 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum have issued a joint statement supporting open-source artificial intelligence development—but with explicit requirements for security assurance and government oversight. The declaration, released Thursday in Chengdu, China, marks a shift from open source's libertarian origins toward models that incorporate state coordination and control.

The "Chengdu statement" calls for respecting "security, data protection and intellectual property rights" while backing open-source projects. Crucially, it specifies support only for models "that employ strong security assurance through development and deployment," according to details first reported by CNBC.

Why It Matters

This multilateral agreement reflects how governments are responding to the rapid proliferation of powerful open-source AI models, particularly from Chinese companies like DeepSeek and GLM 5.2. As these freely available systems become more capable, policymakers in both Washington and Beijing are seeking mechanisms to maintain oversight without stifling innovation. The statement provides a framework for countries to support open development while demanding transparency, testing, and deployment controls—a middle path between fully closed commercial models and unrestricted open release.

China Leads Open-Source Push

China has driven recent open-source AI advancement, releasing models that users can freely download and modify. This contrasts with U.S. companies like Anthropic that offer only closed, subscription-based systems. The U.S. has accused Chinese firms of stealing American technology to fuel this development.

Li Lecheng, China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology, chaired the Thursday meeting and noted this represents the first APEC AI statement to include open-source cooperation at the ministerial level. He said all parties acknowledged AI risks and encouraged cross-sector dialogue on cybersecurity, supply chain resilience, and online fraud.

Regional Infrastructure Alignment

Winston Ma, an adjunct law professor at New York University, said the statement's "explicit alignment around open-source ecosystems and compute infrastructure" confirms the Asia-Pacific region is moving toward open-weight systems integrated with state-coordinated energy, telecommunications, and digital infrastructure—a departure from closed commercial models.

Wei Sun, principal analyst for artificial intelligence at Counterpoint Research, called the agreement meaningful. "Getting 21 economies, including both China and the United States, to recognize trusted open-source AI as something worth supporting is meaningful," she said. The phrase "strong security assurance" gives security-focused nations room to support open models while still requiring safeguards.

Sun noted the debate is evolving: "The debate is moving beyond open vs. closed and towards: who can now build an open ecosystem that is also trusted enough for governments and enterprises to deploy."

Janet De Silva, chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council's digital and innovation working group, urged ministers to prepare for quantum computing's impact on encryption and financial system security.

The details were first reported by CNBC from the APEC Digital Weeks event in Chengdu.