Xi frames China as open AI partner at WAIC

Xi Jinping’s keynote at Shanghai’s World AI Conference framed China as an open, cooperative partner for countries seeking to build AI capabilities, with an implicit contrast to the United States. The speech reinforced Beijing’s emphasis on capacity building for the Global South and followed the launch of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) in Shanghai.

Xi restated support for open-source AI, but the language stayed close to China’s existing position rather than offering a stronger commitment. The speech also highlighted AI diffusion into traditional industries, the AI Plus Initiative, and China’s claim that core smart economy industries are worth at least RMB 1 trillion yuan.

Risk control received unusually forceful treatment. Xi called for laws, monitoring, early warning and emergency response systems to prevent abuse, keep AI under human control and “forestall loss of control,” language that can carry meanings ranging from state oversight to industrial reliability and human control in Chinese policy discourse.

China also announced practical steps for international cooperation, including 5,000 opportunities in AI training and seminar programs for developing countries over the next five years, application cooperation centers with regional organizations, and access for 30 countries to the MAZU AI-powered meteorological warning system.