(Xinhua Shanghai, July 17)
On the morning of July 17, President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and the High-Level Meeting on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence in Shanghai, delivering a keynote speech.
Xi pointed out that with the joint efforts of all parties, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization was established in Shanghai. This is a significant initiative by China in response to the calls from the Global South, uniting the international community to actively promote the development and governance of artificial intelligence, and it will become an important milestone in the history of AI development.
Xi announced that to further support global AI development and enhance global AI capacity building, China will provide 5,000 training slots for AI specialized workshops for developing countries over the next five years; establish international AI application cooperation centers for ASEAN, the Arab League, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS countries; and promote the meteorological intelligent early warning program ‘MAZU’ in 30 countries to safeguard homes and ensure peace across the seas.
News Highlights: About the ‘MAZU’ Program
On July 26, 2025, at the opening ceremony of the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference held in Shanghai, the China Meteorological Administration officially launched the national early warning program ‘MAZU’.
‘MAZU’ is a revered guardian of the sea and weather in China’s coastal regions, closely aligning with the core values of disaster early warning. Therefore, the China Meteorological Administration named the national early warning program ‘MAZU’.
The program aims to build a global early warning service network that includes multi-hazard alerts, sharing China’s experiences and technological achievements with the world, especially developing countries, to bridge the gap in early warning capabilities and jointly address global climate challenges.
As of April 2026, the China Meteorological Administration has organized training for nearly a thousand meteorological personnel from over 100 developing countries in early warning technology; meteorological agencies in more than 40 countries are using ‘MAZU’ products through cloud services; and seven countries, including Pakistan, Ethiopia, the Solomon Islands, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Djibouti, have already implemented customized systems, showing outstanding performance in disaster prevention and major event support.
These efforts have received high recognition from the United Nations system. The Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas, has publicly praised China’s ‘MAZU program’ multiple times and hopes it will be promoted in more developing countries.
What is the MAZU Program?
‘MAZU’ is the national early warning program launched by the China Meteorological Administration. It is not a standalone AI model nor a regular weather forecasting software, but a comprehensive early warning solution aimed at meteorological disaster risks.
The ‘MAZU’ program integrates capabilities such as meteorological satellites, weather radars, ground observations, numerical weather prediction, AI meteorological models, risk assessment, and warning issuance, forming a business closed loop covering monitoring, warning, issuance, and response, helping different countries improve their warning and response capabilities against disasters such as heavy rain, typhoons, floods, high temperatures, droughts, and severe convective weather.
- Official Name: National Early Warning Program ‘MAZU’
- Issuing Authority: China Meteorological Administration
- Release Date: July 2025
- Main Goal: Bridge the gap in global early warning capabilities, focusing on helping developing countries enhance their meteorological disaster prevention and reduction capabilities
- Application Progress: As of April 2026, implemented in seven countries and supports over 40 countries using related products through cloud services
- Latest Plan: Announced on July 17, 2026, to promote the ‘MAZU’ meteorological intelligent early warning program in 30 countries over the next five years
Frequently Asked Questions about the ‘MAZU’ Program
1. What is the precise meaning of the MAZU program?
The MAZU program is a multi-hazard early warning solution. It connects meteorological observations, weather forecasting, AI analysis, disaster risk assessment, warning information dissemination, and emergency response, transforming weather predictions into actionable early warning information and recommendations for disaster prevention and reduction.
2. What do the four letters of MAZU stand for?
‘MAZU’ consists of four English keywords:
- M: Multi-hazard, meaning ‘multiple hazards’;
- A: Alert, meaning ‘warning’;
- Z: Zero-gap, meaning ‘zero gap’;
- U: Universal, meaning ‘inclusive’.
These four keywords summarize the main goals of the ‘MAZU’ program: to provide multi-hazard warning services, reduce the gap in warning capabilities between different countries and regions, and ensure more people receive early warning protection.
3. Is the MAZU program an AI large model?
No. ‘MAZU’ is not an independent AI large model but a comprehensive meteorological early warning solution. The AI meteorological model is an important technical component used to analyze meteorological data, improve weather prediction efficiency, and assist in identifying high-risk weather processes that may lead to disasters.
4. How does the MAZU program work?
The ‘MAZU’ program first obtains weather data through meteorological satellites, radars, and ground observation stations, then uses numerical forecasting and AI models to analyze weather changes. The system combines risk information such as population, terrain, transportation, agriculture, and infrastructure to assess the areas and populations that may be affected by disasters, and issues alerts to government departments, industry organizations, and the public through a warning platform.
The core process can be summarized as: monitoring risks, analyzing impacts, issuing warning information, and supporting emergency responses.
5. How does the MAZU program differ from regular weather forecasts?
Regular weather forecasts primarily answer the question of ‘what weather will occur in the future,’ such as the possibility of heavy rain, strong winds, or high temperatures in a certain area. The ‘MAZU’ program further assesses what disasters these weather conditions may cause, which areas and populations face risks, and what preventive measures relevant departments should take.
For example, ‘heavy rain may occur in the next 24 hours’ is a weather forecast; further assessing which areas may experience flash floods, urban waterlogging, or traffic disruptions, and issuing graded alerts and defense recommendations, constitutes early warning services.
6. In which countries has the MAZU program been implemented?
As of April 2026, the customized ‘MAZU’ system has been implemented in Pakistan, Ethiopia, the Solomon Islands, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Djibouti.
Meanwhile, meteorological departments in over 40 countries are already using ‘MAZU’ early warning service products through cloud services. Different countries can choose cloud services, customized systems, or localized deployment based on local disaster types, observation conditions, and actual needs.
7. Why is this meteorological warning program called ‘MAZU’?
MAZU symbolizes the protection of maritime safety and the well-being of the people in Chinese coastal culture, aligning with the goal of early warning to protect lives and property from disasters.
The name ‘MAZU’ retains a distinct Chinese cultural identity while expressing the technical concepts of multi-hazard, warning, zero gap, and inclusivity through the four English letters ‘MAZU’. The program itself belongs to modern meteorological technology and disaster prevention and reduction projects, relying on technologies such as meteorological observation, artificial intelligence, risk assessment, and warning issuance.
8. Why promote the MAZU program in 30 countries?
Some developing countries and small island nations still face deficiencies in meteorological observation stations, computing resources, professional personnel, and warning dissemination capabilities, making it difficult to independently build a complete multi-hazard early warning system.
Promoting the ‘MAZU’ program aims to provide technical platforms, meteorological products, personnel training, and localized services based on the actual conditions of different countries, helping them establish sustainable early warning systems. On July 17, 2026, China announced plans to promote the meteorological intelligent early warning program ‘MAZU’ in 30 countries over the next five years.
9. What is the relationship between the MAZU program and the United Nations’ ‘Early Warning for All’ initiative?
The ‘MAZU’ program is a meteorological early warning solution launched by China in response to the United Nations’ ‘Early Warning for All’ initiative. Its focus includes providing warning technology support, strengthening professional capacity building, improving disaster risk identification and assessment systems, and exploring cooperation and deployment models suitable for different countries.
The World Meteorological Organization has introduced ‘MAZU’ as an important collaborative action to support the construction of early warning systems for all, particularly emphasizing its application and capacity-building role in developing countries.
Understanding the MAZU Program in One Sentence
The MAZU program is a global meteorological early warning solution launched by China that transforms weather predictions into actionable early warning information and emergency actions to protect lives and reduce disaster losses through satellites, artificial intelligence, and multi-hazard warning platforms.
Source: Xinhua, July 17, 2026, ‘MAZU Goes Global, China’s Meteorological Intelligent Early Warning Program Heads to the World’; Xinhua, April 22, 2026, ‘National Early Warning Program ‘MAZU’ Supports Over 40 Countries in Cloud Applications’; Public information from the World Meteorological Organization regarding ‘AI Empowering Early Warnings for All’ and the MAZU initiative.
