Shanghai to host record-breaking World AI Conference from July 17 to 20

The 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) will be held in Shanghai from July 17 to 20, organizers said on Tuesday, with exhibition space, new product launches and forum sessions all hitting record highs.

The conference will span three locations in the metropolis across four exhibition halls, with total floor space exceeding 100,000 square meters for the first time. More than 1,000 exhibitors will showcase over 3,000 frontier technologies, and more than 300 AI products are set to make their global debut. The event will host over 140 forums featuring 1,400-plus experts from China and abroad.

For the first time, the conference has added a dedicated academic track. WAIC Academic, a high-level international AI academic conference led by Turing Award winners and international academicians, will serve as a platform for scholarly exchange.

The conference focuses on two core tracks – intelligent computing and embodied intelligence – each gathering more than 200 enterprises. Dozens of industry leaders, key players in supply chains, state-owned enterprises and leading international firms will present AI applications across verticals.

Industry growth exceeds 30%

At the same press conference, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said China's AI-related industry exceeded one trillion yuan (about $147 billion) last year and is projected to grow over 30% in 2026.

The NDRC has set up more than 30 national AI pilot bases and encouraged state-owned enterprises to open over 1,000 application scenarios. General AI penetration in key industries has surpassed 80%.

NDRC official Wang Ruomeng said the agency will release two outcomes at the conference: a success case collection covering over 20 countries in agriculture, industry, energy and research, and an action plan for AI cooperation and development covering eight areas including intelligent computing, open ecosystem, AI empowerment and security governance.

China shipped over 100 million AI-powered smart devices in 2025, and sales of AI devices are expected to surpass non-AI models for the first time this year, according to the NDRC. Native AI office agents in China now log over 20 million monthly visits, with daily token consumption reaching hundreds of trillions – a sharp increase from last year.

Wang said during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), China will accelerate independent innovation in models, computing power and data, find high-value scenarios and build benchmark applications, while also studying AI's impact on employment and promoting its use in dangerous, dirty and labor-intensive tasks.