Ye Chen (affiliation not provided to SSRN) et al. have posted “The “Zhejiang Model” from China: A Novel Framework for AI Ethics Governance Through Leading-Enterprise-Driven Symbiosis” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) introduces not only socio-economic benefits but also significant ethical risks, including algorithmic bias, data misuse, and loss of control. Addressing these challenges requires innovative governance frameworks that can balance regulation with innovation. This study explores a novel approach from China’s digital economy pioneer, Zhejiang Province, where the collaboration between leading enterprises—categorized as the “Six Dragons of Hangzhou” (e.g., DeepSeek, Unitree Robotics) and the “Six Giants of Zhejiang” (e.g., Alibaba Cloud, Hikvision)—has catalyzed the emergence of a distinctive leading-enterprise-driven symbiosis. We term the resulting systematic framework the “Zhejiang Model.” This model integrates three synergistic components to form a comprehensive governance ecosystem: (a) Two Institutional Innovations: The Zhejiang AI Ethics Governance Regulations and Developer Ethics Liability Insurance establish a “hard constraints + soft safeguards” mechanism. (b) Three Technical Pathways: The AI Ethics & Safety Lab, Industrial Brain Ethics Middleware, and Zhejiang AI Ethics Toolkit operationalize “compliance by design.” (c) A Collaborative Initiative: The Zhejiang AI Ethics Symbiosis Initiative fosters multi-stakeholder co-governance. By articulating this tripartite framework, the study demonstrates how coordinated self-regulation among leading firms, under government guidance, creates a symbiotic ecosystem for AI ethics. The Zhejiang Model thus offers a replicable blueprint for constructing effective, adaptive, and culturally situated AI governance systems.