Algorithmic Governance, Digital Constitutionalism, and Sustainable Regulatory Transformation: A Comparative Study of the European Union and China in Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) systems has transformed global governance structures, regulatory institutions, and constitutional frameworks, generating complex legal challenges concerning accountability, human rights, market regulation, and sustainable socio-economic development. This article examines how different regulatory systems shape institutional governance outcomes in the context of AI regulation through a comparative analysis of the European Union and China. The study argues that contemporary AI governance increasingly reflects competing models of digital constitutionalism in which regulatory architectures determine the balance between innovation, state authority, economic competitiveness, and individual rights protection. Using comparative legal analysis, institutional governance theory, and regulatory process tracing, the article analyzes constitutional principles, administrative governance mechanisms, enforcement institutions, data governance regimes, and algorithmic accountability frameworks across both jurisdictions.

 The findings indicate that the European Union adopts a rights-based and risk-oriented regulatory approach emphasizing procedural accountability, transparency, and market harmonization, whereas China implements a state-centric governance model prioritizing political stability, industrial modernization, and strategic technological sovereignty. Despite these divergences, both systems increasingly institutionalize algorithmic governance through centralized regulatory coordination and transnational norm diffusion. The article demonstrates that legal governance structures significantly influence institutional legitimacy, economic resilience, technological innovation, and sustainable development outcomes. It contributes to comparative legal scholarship by developing an integrated framework linking digital constitutionalism, institutional coordination, and socio-economic sustainability within emerging AI governance regimes. The study further proposes theoretical propositions concerning regulatory coherence, institutional interoperability, and adaptive legal governance in the era of digital transformation.