Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai for the first time on July 17, using his keynote to position China as a global standard-setter for artificial intelligence and to promote open-source models as an "international public good."
July 17, 2026 · World Artificial Intelligence Conference, Shanghai
Xi Makes His WAIC Debut — Pitching China as AI's Standard-Setter
In his first personal appearance at the conference, Xi Jinping frames AI as an epoch-making shift and casts China's open-source models as an "international public good" for the Global South.
140+
forums across a 4-day event
1,400+
guests · 1,100 exhibitors
300+
products debuting for the first time
2030
stated goal for world AI leadership
The gap is closing — and Chinese models are being used more
DeepSeek's share of tokens on one popular routing platform roughly doubled in six months.
2.7%
Measured performance gap between top US and Chinese models — narrowing sharply.
Accelerating adoption lends weight to Beijing's argument that freely available Chinese models can serve as practical infrastructure for countries without the resources to build their own.
The diplomatic pitch
Open-source AI as an "international public good"
Global AI Governance Initiative
First proposed in 2023, now pushed forward.
World AI Cooperation Organization
A proposed permanent body for coordination.
"AI+" campaign
Weaving AI into industries and public services.
Welcomed
Developers embrace the open-source push
Plans to make AI education mandatory at all school levels
Free models offered as infrastructure for the Global South
Cautioned
Security constraints tied to state-directed governance
Wariness over China's influence on global standards
Persistent chip shortages and overinvestment risk
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