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Sylvia Ma

Howard Liu

President Xi Jinping warned against creating “new historical injustices” in the era of artificial intelligence on Friday, calling for greater support for the technology’s use and adoption in the Global South and a more open, inclusive approach to AI development.
Addressing the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Xi’s speech came shortly after his US counterpart, Donald Trump, delivered an unprecedented attack against Beijing during a prime-time national broadcast, accusing China of orchestrating the “largest compromise of election data in history”.
Xi also urged countries to strengthen risk awareness and ensure that AI is “secure and controllable”, while taking aim at the growing securitisation of the technology, at the opening ceremony of China’s largest annual event for the AI industry.
“We should jointly oppose overstretching the national security concept in the field of AI or placing one country’s security over that of others,” he said.
Xi’s speech, his first in-person appearance at the event since its launch in 2018, was viewed as a signal of Beijing’s intention to lead global AI governance amid an intensifying US-China tech rivalry.
The Chinese leader’s message also positioned Beijing as an advocate of a more open approach to AI development, at a time when access to advanced technologies is increasingly constrained by export controls and corporate blacklists.
During his speech, Xi paired his call for a more open and inclusive global AI order with a package of Chinese commitments aimed at helping developing countries bridge the AI divide and avoid what he called “new historical injustices”.


Over the next five years, China will provide 5,000 AI training and seminar programmes for developing countries and establish AI cooperation centres with Asean, the Arab League, the African Union, Latin American countries, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Brics, he said.
Just moments before Xi’s speech, Trump accused Beijing of orchestrating the “largest compromise of election data in history” in a fiery prime-time address to the US and vowed to end what he called years of complacency towards “Chinese interference”. The duelling speeches underscored the deepening geopolitical and technological rivalry between the world’s two largest economies.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the president of Kazakhstan, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul spoke at the opening ceremony of the conference, as did United Nations chief Antonio Guterres.
Xi added that China’s new five-year plan covering 2026-30 would provide “immense opportunities” for the international community, adding that the country’s core smart economy industries were now worth at least 1 trillion yuan (US$147.61 billion).
Citing a Chinese proverb that “a single tree does not make a forest”, Xi said AI development should not be “a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation”.
“China is ready to be more open, take more practical actions, and assume a more visionary perspective,” he said.
Xi’s personal attendance elevates AI development from a technological imperative to a cornerstone of China’s geopolitical strategy. As Washington maintains strict export controls on advanced semiconductors and restricts overseas access to top AI models, Beijing is accelerating its drive for tech self-reliance.

Also on Friday, the country’s National Development and Reform Commission released an action plan that proposed measures to facilitate cross-border data flows, expand access to computing power for developing countries and foster a global open-source AI ecosystem.
The eight-point plan called for greater international coordination on technical standards, safety governance and talent training, while promoting AI applications in fields such as healthcare, education, agriculture and manufacturing. It also pledged to contribute public scientific goods to the Global South and support the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Beijing has been seeking a greater role in shaping international AI rules in recent years. In 2023, Xi proposed the Global AI Governance Initiative, calling for “equal rights” on AI development regardless of political systems.
According to Xinhua, 29 countries became founding members of the World AI Cooperation Organization after signing an agreement in Shanghai on Thursday to establish the body. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Friday that China would work with the founding members to bring the organisation into operation as soon as possible.
China has also rejected criticism that its promotion of open-source AI models overseas amounts to a “trap”. Responding to a question on the subject at a press conference on Thursday, spokesman Lin said that Beijing opposed drawing ideological lines and imposing technological blockades.
During his speech, Xi also underscored the need to ensure AI’s development is “for positive, for good and for humanity.”
“We must make its oversight and governance precise and effective, and constantly refine measures to forestall loss of control,” he said.
This year’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference came as national security considerations increasingly shape competition across the entire AI supply chain, extending beyond advanced chips to companies, software and models.


The Pentagon added major Chinese technology groups, including Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, Unitree Robotics, CXMT and YMTC, to its list of “Chinese military companies” in June, allegations that the firms have denied. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Security concerns have also spilled into the use of foreign AI tools. Alibaba restricted employees’ access to Anthropic’s Claude Code after Chinese researchers raised concerns about code used to identify users in China and those linked to Chinese AI laboratories. Anthropic said the mechanism was designed to enforce its existing access restrictions.
A similar tension is playing out in AI hardware. Washington has sought to restrict China’s access to Nvidia’s most advanced processors, while still permitting sales of selected chips amid commercial pressure and strong demand from Chinese customers.
Beijing, meanwhile, is promoting domestic alternatives and has raised security concerns about Nvidia products, but local processors still cannot fully meet near-term demand for model training and inference. China has therefore continued to allow some purchases of Nvidia chips even as it accelerates efforts to build a more self-reliant computing ecosystem.
According to organisers, this year’s WAIC – set to run from Friday to Monday – would feature more than 1,100 exhibitors and over 300 global product debuts.
Held annually in Shanghai, the event gathers top scholars and entrepreneurs from the global AI community and has become a critical platform for China to voice its ambition in AI governance as it gains increasing influence.
Premier Li Qiang opened the conference in both 2024 and 2025, calling for an international centre to better coordinate global cooperation on AI.
At last year’s WAIC, China announced a 13-point action plan on global AI governance, stressing the need to step up cooperation, particularly with developing countries, to improve innovation capacity.
“This year’s WAIC is China’s latest showcase of its AI strengths to the world,” said Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at technology research firm Omdia. He said many emerging markets still faced severe shortages of AI talent, high-quality data, infrastructure and industry expertise, creating an opening for China’s broader technology ecosystem.
Chinese advancements in AI chips, token-based business models and open-source models could help fill those gaps, offering an alternative to Western suppliers for countries seeking to diversify their AI supply chains, he added.
Additional reporting by Ann Cao


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Chinese leader’s presence at World AI Conference signals Beijing’s push to elevate AI from tech priority to pillar of geopolitical strategy


Chinese leader’s presence at World AI Conference signals Beijing’s push to elevate AI from tech priority to pillar of geopolitical strategy.


Xi Jinping warns against creating ‘new historical injustices’ in AI era

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinese leader’s presence at World AI Conference signals Beijing’s push to elevate AI from tech priority to pillar of geopolitical strategy

Chinese leader’s presence at World AI Conference signals Beijing’s push to elevate AI from tech priority to pillar of geopolitical strategy