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Xi Jinping to Deliver Keynote at Shanghai's WAIC 2026, His First Appearance at China's Flagship AI Summit

July 13, 2026 at 04:39 EDT

Policy & Regulation
Foundation Models

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai and deliver a keynote address, marking his first appearance at the country's premier AI gathering and underscoring the priority Beijing is placing on the technology.

July 13, 2026 · Shanghai

Xi to Debut at China's Flagship AI Summit

President Xi Jinping will headline the opening of WAIC 2026 (July 17–20) under the theme "AI Partnership for a brighter future" — his first appearance at the event, signaling a bid to lead on global AI governance amid deepening U.S.–China rivalry.

1st

appearance by Xi at China's premier AI gathering

Jul 17–20

WAIC 2026 + High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance

Turing or Nobel laureates confirmed to attend

The largest edition yet

Scale of participation, by the numbers

140+

themed forums

1,400+

international guests

1,100+

exhibitors

100,000+

m² exhibition area

Blocks are illustrative, scaled within each metric — units differ across columns.

The signal

Analysts read Xi's attendance less as a claim of technical capability — and more as a move toward setting the rules.

Global governance

Bid to shape international AI rules and support the Global South.

Self-reliance push

Reducing dependence on foreign chips and foundational software.

Watch next: The announcement centers on the event itself — no new product or model is tied to the summit. Attention turns to Xi's keynote and whether the co-located governance meeting yields concrete proposals on international AI rules.

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