Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for the opening ceremony of the World AI Conference in Shanghai, Friday, July 17, 2026.
By Han Guan/AP Pool
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By Han Guan/AP Pool
SHANGHAI – Developing and managing artificial intelligence should be a global effort, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday, while reiterating China’s objections to what he called “overreaching” national security concerns.
At a conference in Shanghai, Xi said AI should not be dominated by a single nation. U.S.-imposed restrictions have prevented China from accessing some of the world’s most advanced technologies, boosting China’s efforts to build its own know-how and intensifying the technology race between the world’s two largest economies.
“The development of artificial intelligence should not be a solo effort by a single country, but rather a symphony of global cooperation,” Xi said at China’s annual World Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Shanghai. Other participants included the heads of state and government of Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Thailand, as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
“We should jointly oppose the practice of overstretching the concept of national security in the field of artificial intelligence and putting our own security above that of other countries,” he said, repeating a long-standing Chinese complaint.
He said China will provide 5,000 artificial intelligence training opportunities for developing countries in the next five years.
China will expand AI cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS countries, Xi said. He promised to give 30 countries access to an AI meteorology system developed in China that provides early warning systems.
A day earlier, 29 countries, including Pakistan, Russia and Kazakhstan, signed an agreement with China to establish a World Organization for Artificial Intelligence. State media described it as an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Shanghai that promotes global AI governance.
According to state media, more than 1,100 companies and 1,400 guests are taking part in the annual AI conference this year.
During the conference, tech giant Huawei will unveil its powerful AI computing system, the Atlas 950 SuperPoD.
Some technology analysts now believe that China has become an innovator in AI, moving beyond just the US. China’s five-year plan to 2030 has prioritized progress in the frontiers of science and technology, including AI.
China’s open-source AI models such as DeepSeek are seen globally as attractive and often lower-cost alternatives to U.S. AI models, which are largely closed-source, particularly in developing countries.
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/17/nx-s1-5897285/chinas-xi-calls-for-step-up-of-global-effort-in-ai-as-us-curbs-squeeze-chinas-tech-access
