Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Friday, July 17, 2026, urging international cooperation on AI and stating that the technology should not be dominated by a single country.
Key quotes (Xi):
- “AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation.”
- “We should jointly oppose overstretching the national security concept in the field of AI or placing one country’s security over that of others.”
- Called for laws, regulations, technological monitoring, early warning, and emergency response systems to “ensure AI is always under human control” — a “people-centric” approach.
WAICO (World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization):
- Agreement signed Thursday, July 16, 2026 in Shanghai by foreign minister Wang Yi and representatives of 29 countries (including Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia; also cited: Kazakhstan, Laos, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, Senegal per broader coverage).
- Independent intergovernmental organization headquartered in Shanghai.
- Stated aim: promote international cooperation and global AI governance; ensure AI is beneficial, safe, and fair; “healthy and orderly” development.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended the signing ceremony.
- Western countries largely absent; analysts note EU has its own AI Act and the U.S. is defining separate regulations.
WAIC context: Four-day conference with 1,000+ Chinese tech firms, officials, researchers; ~3,000 products on display (semiconductor AI systems, autonomous smartphone demos). Attendees include Cambodia’s Hun Manet and Thailand’s Anutin Charnvirakul. Other highlights: Moonshot Kimi K3 release, MiniMax M3, Huawei Atlas 950 supernode.
Analyst notes: Shengyun Lu (Praxis Advisory) said China seeks to lead in both technology and AI governance, comparing regulation needs to nuclear power. NYU’s Arun Sundararajan said a single global governance approach is hard to imagine despite limited Xi–Trump cooperation signals.