Xi urges wider AI cooperation as China faces U.S.-led tech curbs
China’s leader used a Shanghai AI forum to call for global governance and criticize security-based technology restrictions.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Chinese President Xi Jinping called Friday for broader international cooperation on artificial intelligence, using a major Shanghai conference to challenge efforts that restrict China’s access to advanced technology. The Associated Press reported that his remarks came as U.S.-led controls have limited China’s access to some of the world’s most advanced tech, sharpening competition between the two largest economies.
Speaking at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, Xi said AI development and oversight should involve countries working together rather than being led by one power, according to AP. He also repeated Beijing’s objection to what he described as the expansion of national security arguments in the AI field.
“The development of artificial intelligence should not be a solo performance by any single country but rather a symphony of global cooperation,” Xi said, according to AP. He added that countries should oppose using national security claims in ways that put one country’s security ahead of others.
The Shanghai event drew foreign leaders including those of Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Thailand, along with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, AP reported. China has sought to position itself as a central player in AI governance while building domestic alternatives to technologies affected by foreign restrictions.
China offers training and AI systems abroad
Xi said China would provide 5,000 AI training opportunities for developing countries over the next five years, according to AP. He also said Beijing would broaden AI cooperation with several international groupings, including 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 BRICS countries.
China will give 30 countries access to a Chinese-developed AI meteorological system that supports early warning systems, Xi said, according to AP. The offer fits Beijing’s wider push to build partnerships in the developing world around technology and infrastructure.
A day before Xi’s speech, 29 countries including Pakistan, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement with China to create a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, AP reported. Chinese state media described the body as an intergovernmental organization based in Shanghai that would promote global AI governance.
Tech race with the U.S. intensifies
More than 1,100 companies and 1,400 guests are taking part in this year’s annual AI conference, Chinese state media said, according to AP. Huawei is set to display its Atlas 950 SuperPoD, a powerful AI computing system, during the event.
AP reported that some technology analysts now see China as an AI innovator rather than a country only trying to catch up with the United States. China’s five-year plan through 2030 has prioritized advances in frontiers of science and technology, including artificial intelligence.
Chinese open-source AI models such as DeepSeek have drawn attention globally as lower-cost alternatives to mostly closed-source U.S. models, especially in developing countries, AP reported. The rise of those systems has given China a stronger hand as it argues for a broader international role in AI development and governance.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.