Xi urges global AI collaboration as 29 nations launch Shanghai body

Beijing,UPDATED: Jul 17, 2026 17:40 IST

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday said the development of artificial intelligence should not be a "solo performance" by one country, but a "symphony of global collaboration". Speaking at the opening of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, he said AI was advancing at a staggering speed and must be developed in a way that is positive and beneficial for humanity.

His remarks came as 29 countries signed an agreement in Shanghai to set up the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation, an independent intergovernmental international organisation that will be headquartered in the city. The move added an international dimension to China’s push for wider cooperation on AI governance and development.

Xi said, "With AI advancing at a staggering speed, we must ensure its development is positive, for the good and for humanity." He also raised a series of questions that he said required answers from the international community. "We human beings must answer the questions posed by our times: How to get along with thinking machines? How to ensure security when an algorithm is part of decision making? How to tackle ethical challenges by technologies through adaptive governance? How to realise AI for all when the divide keeps widening? These questions demand serious consideration and real answers from the whole international community," he said.

He said China wanted all countries to adopt a people-centred approach to AI development. "We should ensure that AI is an important driver for shared prosperity and common security. We should join hands to build a just and equitable system for global AI governance," he said.

Xi also said that over the next five years China would support AI development in developing countries, including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Arab League, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the African Union, Latin America and the BRICS countries. He said China would provide 5,000 AI research projects, along with training, seminar programmes and cooperation centres.

Earlier, 29 countries signed the agreement to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Representatives from countries including Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia, apart from China, signed the agreement and became the organisation’s founding members. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was also among representatives from countries and international organisations present at the signing ceremony. According to the agreement, the organisation will uphold the purposes of the UN Charter, support extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, and follow a people-centred approach.

In recent years, China has made major advances in frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and battery technology, supported by state backing, a large domestic market, strong manufacturing capacity and a large pool of engineers. In AI, China has made the sector a national strategic priority, with heavy government investment in research, computing infrastructure, semiconductor development and talent cultivation, aimed at becoming the world’s leading AI innovation centre.

China has also become the world’s largest producer and exporter of electric vehicles, with the sector expanding sharply over the past decade. Analysts say its progress in AI, electric vehicles and battery technology reflects an effort to move from being a manufacturing hub to becoming a major technological innovator, even as it faces strong competition from the US, EU, South Korea and Japan, as well as American export controls on advanced AI chips.

Xi’s call for global collaboration on AI, the creation of a new international organisation in Shanghai, and China’s promise of research and training support together underlined Beijing’s broader push to shape the next phase of AI development and governance.

With PTI Inputs

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