Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend China's premier artificial intelligence conference for the first time, a move Bloomberg reports underlines how much weight Beijing is now placing on the technology as its competition with the US sharpens. Xi will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the three-day World AI Conference in Shanghai starting July 17.
A first for the Chinese President
Xi's appearance marks a notable shift. The World AI Conference has been held annually in Shanghai since 2018, but Xi has previously sent congratulatory messages rather than attending in person, with the event typically headlined by other senior Chinese officials. This year, according to Xinhua, the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance will run in Shanghai from July 17 to 20, with Xi attending the opening ceremony and delivering the keynote address himself, China's foreign ministry confirmed.
China AI Summit scale and theme
This year's edition carries the theme 'AI Partnership for a Brighter Future,' according to China's foreign ministry. The event is expected to be one of the largest editions yet, spread across the Expo, Zhangjiang and West Bund areas of Shanghai, featuring more than 140 forums and drawing over 1,400 international guests, according to conference organisers. More than 1,100 global companies are slated to exhibit, with over 3,000 exhibits on display.
Backdrop of US-China tech rivalry
Xi's personal involvement comes as competition between Washington and Beijing over artificial intelligence has intensified sharply in recent months. The rivalry has been shaped in part by advances from US labs, including Anthropic's release of its cybersecurity-focused Mythos model, which reportedly uncovered thousands of major vulnerabilities in widely used software and prompted governments and banks worldwide to reassess their cyber defences. Chinese officials have criticised what they describe as a tightening Western effort to restrict China's access to frontier AI systems, while Washington has raised concerns over alleged intellectual property theft by Chinese tech firms.
Against this backdrop, Beijing has sought to position the Shanghai conference as a platform for international cooperation rather than confrontation, with Chinese officials saying the country wants to help developing nations build AI capacity and promote a multilateral approach to AI governance.
What to watch out for?
Xi's keynote will be closely watched for signals on China's AI strategy, its stance on global governance frameworks, and any response to Washington's export controls on advanced chips and AI systems. The high-level governance meeting running alongside the conference is expected to bring together representatives from dozens of countries and international organisations for discussions on shared AI standards.
