Regional Policy Dialogue: Harnessing AI to Build Employment-Friendly Labour Markets in China and ASEAN

The Regional Policy Dialogue 2026 will convene constituents from ASEAN and China to explore practical policy approaches for leveraging Artificial Intelligence to foster inclusive, resilient, and job-rich labour markets.

Background

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a defining driver of economic and labour market transformation around the world. AI adoption is accelerating as enterprises and public institutions expand their use of digital tools to improve workplace productivity and service delivery. The ILO Employment and Social Trends 2026 report highlights that although global unemployment is expected to remain stable at 4.9 per cent, rapid advances in AI uptake are creating new uncertainty in labour markets.

Across Asia and the Pacific, these challenges related to AI are intensified by digital infrastructure gaps, persistent informality and unequal access to digital skills development. Risks related to digital exclusion, job displacement and unequal access to emerging technologies remain significant, with implications varying across economies, sectors and groups in the labour force. These dynamics underscore the need for coordinated and integrated policies that guide AI adoption and impact on the world of work. Central to the governance of AI is effective tripartism, social dialogue and strong labour market institutions, which can help ensure that AI deployment supports decent work, addresses risks proactively, and promotes inclusive outcomes across different groups, sectors and countries in varied stages of development.

Against this backdrop, ASEAN economies are working to position themselves to benefit from AI-driven transformation while mitigating emerging risks. However, the impacts of AI are unfolding differently across ASEAN countries, reflecting diverse labour market structures, levels of digital development and institutional capacities. Across the region, AI offers significant opportunities to boost productivity and enhance job quality. At the same time, it calls for adaptation not only to shifting skills demands, but also to new ways of working, evolving business models, and the need for responsive labour market institutions, regulatory frameworks and governance mechanisms capable of managing AI-related transitions, supporting workers and enterprises, and ensuring that technological adoption translates into productive and inclusive employment outcomes.

ASEAN is not alone in confronting the broader development challenges posed by rapid technological change. Similarly, China is contending with many of the same structural issues of navigating the transition toward more technology-intensive growth while seeking to expand access to decent, productive, and inclusive employment. As AI becomes more deeply integrated into economic activity, policymakers are increasingly focused on how it can create new jobs, upgrade traditional roles and align technological progress with inclusive development.

The 2026 Regional Policy Dialogue will bring together policymakers, experts, and social partners from ASEAN and China to explore a range of policy approaches through which AI can be harnessed and governed to build inclusive, resilient, and job-rich labour markets, and to identify practical policy solutions that can support the region’s shared development priorities, recognizing diverse national contexts and development pathways across the region.

This Dialogue is co-organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) of the People’s Republic of China. Through the South-South and Triangular Cooperation approach, it will examine policy innovations for the AI era, AI-enabled public employment services, entrepreneurship and MSME support, skills transformation, and inclusive approaches to mitigate AI-related inequalities and address shared employment challenges.

Objectives

The Policy Dialogue aims to strengthen ASEAN-China–ILO cooperation on employment-centred AI governance, labour market transformation, and inclusive skills development. Specifically, the Dialogue will:

• Explore approaches on how AI can support employment-centred development strategies in different national contexts
• Exchange experience on practical AI applications in public employment services, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), and enterprise development
• Identify policy innovations that ensure AI adoption in the world of work advances social justice and decent work
• Promote South-South and Triangular Cooperation as a mechanism for navigating emerging labour market transitions related to AI adoption in the workplace
• Explore regulatory, institutional, and governance mechanisms that ensure ethical, safe, and inclusive AI adoption in the workplace

Contact information

If you have any questions or require additional information about the event, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Sheng Ling at [email protected] and Ms Yaqi Li at [email protected].