AI for Good summit opens in Geneva with China push for cooperation

China has called for greater cooperation as the 2026 AI for Good Global Summit kicked off Tuesday at Palexpo in Geneva. 

Running through July 10, the flagship UN initiative brings together governments, international organizations and industry leaders over three days to explore how AI is already changing lives, from healthcare and education to food security and disaster risk reduction. 

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, whose agency co-sponsors the summit alongside the Swiss government and over 50 UN partners, said "Geneva Digital Week" marks a shift "from conversation to people-centered action" on AI.

On the sidelines, the Geneva-based "Global Governance Friends Group" held a seminar on "AI for Good and Inclusive Development" on July 7, with over 200 participants from more than 30 countries.

Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng said, "AI global governance calls for more robust international cooperation." Jia Guide, China's Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva, added that inclusive AI development hinges on a "people-centered approach, openness and cooperation, and multilateralism."

On July 9, the inaugural AI and Space Computing Challenge results were unveiled at the summit, with Chinese teams winning gold in all three categories. 

Launched jointly by ITU, China's Zhejiang Lab and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the challenge attracted 258 teams from 36 countries.

Zhejiang University of Technology won gold in food production monitoring; a Ningbo University and Earth-2 Space Technology joint team won gold in water quality analysis; and Zhejiang Normal University won gold in urban heat island mapping.

Wang Jian, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of Zhejiang Lab, noted that researchers worldwide share a "high degree of consensus" on global challenges.