China has hit out at US-led tech curbs in its latest position paper to the United Nations, calling for an "open, fair, equal and non-discriminative" environment for all countries to develop new technologies.
In the paper released on Wednesday, the Chinese government said science and technology should benefit all people, and not be used to limit the development of any country.
"A few countries must not mix their hegemonic thinking with the governance of new technology, generalise the idea of national security, and fortify their small backyard with advantages in technologies," it said.
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The paper outlined Beijing's proposal to use the United Nations as a springboard for regulations and standards on artificial intelligence that "increase the representation and voice of the developing countries".
It also expressed opposition to the militarisation of cyberspace, the blanket use of "national security" as grounds to deny others the legitimate right to development, and the proliferation of cyberattack technologies turning cyberspace into a new battlefield of geopolitical competition.
The paper comes as Washington and its allies seek to maintain a technological edge over Beijing with various measures such as banning sales of advanced semiconductor chips and manufacturing equipment to China.
But the document went beyond technology.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the paper "comprehensively elaborated on China's positions and propositions on key areas of global governance such as peace, security, development, human rights, and society, as well as on institutional reform".
One of the key issues in the paper was Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
"The Japanese government should ... stop the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water, communicate fully with neighbouring countries in a sincere manner, and accept strict international supervision in order to ensure that the nuclear-contaminated water is disposed of in a scientific, safe and transparent manner," the document said.
The paper also repeated China's complaints over "politicisation" of and "double standards" on human rights.
It followed the release last year of a UN report on human rights in Xinjiang which said "allegations of patterns of torture, or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention, are credible, as are allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender-based violence".