The first two UNU hubs in the Chinese mainland have been recently launched by the United Nations University (UNU) via the UNU Institute in Macau (UNU Macau), according to a UNU Macau statement yesterday.
Following the establishment of the UNU Hub on Humanitarian Innovation and Technology at Lingnan University in Hong Kong in 2025, the statement pointed out that there are now three hubs in China, with the two new hubs comprising the UNU Hub for Promoting Ethical and Responsible Artificial Intelligence Development at Tsinghua University, and the UNU Hub for AI-Finance at East China Normal University (ECNU). They were launched with partners in Beijing and Shanghai and are aimed at strengthening collaboration between academia and the UN system, according to the statement.
The statement highlighted that in Beijing, the Tsinghua-based hub will advance work on “AI risk monitoring, ethical evaluation, and inclusive governance frameworks, supporting multi-stakeholder dialogue and helping shape trusted standards for responsible AI”.
The ECNU-based hub in Shanghai will tackle “AI-driven finance -including financial risk analysis, macro-financial decision-making, and policy simulation – to support financial inclusion and sustainable growth, particularly in the Global South”.
UNU Rector and United Nations Under-Secretary-General Tshilidzi Marwala was quoted by the statement as saying: “The UNU Hub at Tsinghua University reflects our global commitment to ensuring that AI development is aligned with human values… helping societies address systemic risks and establish trusted frameworks”.
Prof. Marwala added: “The UNU Hub at ECNU embodies our vision of inclusive growth… supporting the Global South in opening new pathways towards financial inclusion and sustainable growth.”
