China's Xi calls for more global efforts to guide AI, chides US for its
curbs on tech sharing
[July 17, 2026] By
HAN GUAN NG and CHAN HO-HIM
SHANGHAI (AP) — Development and governance of artificial intelligence
should be a global effort, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday,
while reiterating China’s objections to what he called the
“overstretching” of national security concerns.
Speaking at a conference in Shanghai, Xi said AI should not be dominated
by any single nation. American-led restrictions have blocked China from
accessing some of the world's most advanced technologies, spurring
China's efforts to build its own know-how and intensifying the rivalry
between the world’s two biggest economies.
“The development of artificial intelligence should not be a solo
performance by any single country but rather a symphony of global
cooperation,” Xi said at the opening of China's annual World Artificial
Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. Others attending included the
leaders of Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Thailand and U.N. Secretary-General
António Guterres.
Xi opposes the ‘overstretching’ of national security in AI
“We should together oppose the practice of overstretching the concept of
national security in the field of artificial intelligence, and of
placing one’s own security above that of other countries,” he said,
repeating a longstanding Chinese complaint.
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 provide
access for 30 countries to a Chinese-developed AI meteorological tool
that provides early warning systems.
Over the next five years, Xi said China will provide 5,000 AI training
opportunities to developing countries.
Closer partnerships can help prevent “historical injustice in AI,” he
said.
China’s new AI cooperation body seen as response to the U.S.
Ahead of the conference, 29 countries including Pakistan, Russia and
Kazakhstan signed an agreement with China to establish a World
Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. State media described
it as an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Shanghai
promoting global AI governance.
The new AI cooperation organization can be viewed as China’s answer to
the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, said George Chen, partner and chair
of digital practice at Washington-headquartered consultancy The Asia
Group.
The Pax Silica framework, launched late last year, focuses on
strengthening collaboration with U.S. allies and partners on AI-related
supply chains. Signatories include Japan, the U.K., Australia, the
Philippines, Israel and India.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives at the opening
ceremony for the World AI Conference in Shanghai, Friday, July 17,
2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool)
 Following a visit by U.S. President
Donald Trump’s to Beijing to meet with Xi in mid-May, China and the
United States also agreed to conduct a dialogue on AI development
and governance.
Chen, who was at the conference in Shanghai, also said Xi’s speech
can be seen as a signal that China can be a reliable partner to the
developing world, or “Global South” countries. “China will not let
America be the monopoly of AI technology.”
China's advanced tech showcased as it steps up self-reliance
More than 1,100 companies and 1,400 guests are participating in the
annual AI conference this year, Chinese state media said.
During the conference that runs until Monday, tech giant Huawei is
showcasing its powerful AI computing system, the Atlas 950 SuperPoD.
Some technology analysts now believe China has become an innovator
in AI and is no longer just catching up with the U.S. China’s
five-year plan until 2030 has prioritized progress in frontiers of
science and technology including AI.
China’s open-source AI models, like DeepSeek, are seen, especially
across the developing world, as appealing and often more affordable
than U.S. AI models, which are largely closed-source.
Coinciding with the conference, the Chinese AI startup Moonshot
released its latest AI model, Kimi K3. It said Kimi K3's 2.8
trillion parameters — one of the measurements of an AI model's
capability — will make it the world's largest open-source model.
DeepSeek's V4 Pro version has 1.6 trillion parameters.
Last month, another Chinese AI company Zhipu, or Z.ai, rolled out
its new flagship GLM-5.2 open-source model in a challenge to U.S.
rivals including Anthropic’s models.
But U.S. politicians and several major U.S. AI companies including
Anthropic have accused Chinese AI models of illicit “distillation”
of their models to extract their technologies, a claim that Beijing
says is “groundless.” U.S. policymakers have also raised concerns
over Chinese AI posing an economic threat to the United States.
____
Chan reported from Hong Kong. Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu
contributed from Beijing.
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