Xi Jinping Tells World AI Conference No Single Country Should Dominate AI, Pitching China as Global Leader

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote address at the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 17, 2026, using the platform to pitch China as the leader of a new global artificial intelligence order and to push back against US-led restrictions on the technology. According to Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times, Xi's speech was a landmark moment — he does not personally keynote the annual conference often, and his decision to do so signaled Beijing's elevated ambition in the global AI race.

The address came as the latest AI industry coverage shows Chinese labs rapidly closing the capability gap with their American rivals. Xi used the moment to draw a sharp contrast between China's vision of shared, open development and what he framed as Washington's restrictive, go-it-alone approach.

"Should not be a solo performance"

The central message of Xi's speech was a call for global cooperation rather than dominance. RTHK News reported that Xi declared no single country should dominate AI, while Al Jazeera quoted him saying the technology "should not be a solo performance by a single country." The line was widely read as a direct swipe at the United States, which has tightened export controls on advanced AI chips and pressured allies to limit technology transfers to China.

NBC News reported that Xi sought to turn China's AI boom into global influence, using the Shanghai conference to court developing nations. Reuters framed the speech more bluntly, reporting that Xi "pitches China as leader of new global AI order, challenging US dominance."

Open-source AI and the Global South

A major theme of the address was open-source AI. The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi "touts open-source AI and takes a swipe at US dominance," while the Financial Times wrote that he "sets out China's goal to be global AI leader." The Business Times noted that Xi promoted China's commitment to broad AI access, positioning Beijing as a champion of affordable, openly available models for countries that have been priced out of the frontier-AI race.

That pitch has a concrete dimension. According to Breakingthenews.net, Xi said China would create AI cooperation hubs together with BRICS nations and African countries. Tech Times reported separately that China is pushing a rival AI governance body aimed at the Global South — an alternative to US- and EU-led regulatory frameworks that Beijing argues are designed to entrench Western technological supremacy.

The timing is not accidental. Over the past week, a wave of low-cost, open-weight Chinese models has demonstrated capabilities that rival top proprietary systems from OpenAI and Anthropic, strengthening China's argument that its open-source approach can compete on quality while remaining accessible. CNBC reported that Xi pitched China as an AI partner to the developing world while warning against both the risks of the technology and what he called security overreach.

A geopolitical counter-offer

Taken together, the speech amounted to a geopolitical counter-offer: cheap, open, Chinese-built AI paired with a cooperative governance model, set against expensive, controlled, American-led alternatives. DW and Al Jazeera both reported Xi's call for international AI development cooperation, while Reuters had signaled in advance that he intended to "outline AI diplomacy vision" at the forum.

The strategy builds on existing infrastructure. China already hosts the World AI Cooperation Organization, which according to earlier reporting has drawn dozens of countries into a Beijing-led framework. Xi's keynote at WAIC elevates that effort to the presidential level, signaling that AI diplomacy is now a top-tier foreign-policy priority for Beijing.

What it means for the AI race

For Western policymakers, the speech underscores a growing dilemma. Export controls were designed to keep China behind, yet the rapid succession of competitive Chinese open-weight releases suggests the restrictions may be slowing — but not stopping — the country's progress. As more models become freely available, the question shifts from who can build the best proprietary system to who can set the standards, build the ecosystems, and win the allegiances of nations looking for affordable AI.

Xi's answer, delivered in Shanghai, was unequivocal: China intends to lead that process, and it intends to do so in the open. Whether the developing world takes up that offer — and how Washington responds — will shape the next phase of the global AI competition.

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