Overview
- Xi Jinping spoke at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Friday and urged international cooperation while insisting AI must remain under human control.
- Chinese officials and state media reported that Foreign Minister Wang Yi and representatives of 29 countries signed an agreement to create a Shanghai‑based intergovernmental AI cooperation body called WAICO, though outside verification of the membership list is limited.
- Chinese companies and startups showcased new models and systems at the conference, with MiniMax unveiling its M3 model, Moonshot AI presenting Kimi K3, and Huawei exhibiting the Atlas 950 supernode, and organizers said these products aim to close performance and cost gaps with U.S. offerings.
- Analysts at the event said China’s strengths—open‑source models, rapid deployment, cost optimisation and industrial integration—make it the United States’ closest competitor while the U.S. keeps a clear lead in advanced chips and top‑tier compute infrastructure.
- China’s large domestic market, heavy state investment and leading generative‑AI patent output give Beijing scale to promote its governance model and tools abroad, a dynamic that could shift technology partnerships and rule‑setting in developing countries.