AI is not a solo performance by any single country

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AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony of the World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai on Friday.

Xi, while noting China's role in ensuring equity of access to AI capacity building for developing countries, presented four observations on AI governance: adhering to the principle of openness and win-win cooperation, strengthening risk awareness, encouraging inclusiveness and promoting mutual learning among civilizations, and advocating solidarity and improving global governance.

Xi's message is clear: Artificial intelligence should be governed multilaterally and shared more equitably across countries at different stages of development so as to prevent the creation of "new historical injustices" in AI.

Indeed, AI is not a privilege reserved for a handful of wealthy states and technology giants. It should instead become a driver of shared growth, public benefit, and inclusive modernization. That is the central idea behind the conference, which China positions as a hub for dialogue on global AI governance and as a bridge between advanced economies and the Global South.

That approach reflects Beijing's wider preference for multilateralism in emerging technologies, especially at a time when AI development is increasingly shaped by strategic competition among major powers. In that sense, the conference in Shanghai is not just about the future of tools, but the future of the international order itself.

At the conference, Xi announced that China will provide developing countries with 5,000 opportunities for AI training and seminars over the next five years, and plans to build international cooperation centers for AI applications targeting ASEAN, the Arab League, the African Union, CELAC, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS.

Rather than focusing only on risk containment, China has stressed development and collective benefit. This demonstrates Beijing's determination to make AI a tool for education, healthcare, agriculture, urban management, and industrial upgrading among countries which do not want to be locked out by high costs, restricted access, or closed ecosystems.

At WAIC, this message is being amplified through official speeches, technical forums, and international participation. The presence of regional actors such as ASEAN also underscores that the conference is not a China-centric event, as some Western media have hyped; it is designed as a convening space where developing economies can engage China and each other on a more equal footing. In practice, this means China is trying to build a mutually beneficial community around a development-oriented AI agenda.

It is worth noting that representatives from 29 countries, including Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia, signed an agreement on establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) on Thursday, making their countries WAICO's founding members. On Friday, Xi announced WAICO's establishment.

WAICO, according to the agreement, will uphold the purposes of the UN Charter, be committed to extensive consultations and joint contributions for shared benefits and adhere to a people-centered approach, so as to ensure that AI is beneficial, safe and fair, and promote its healthy and orderly development to benefit all humanity.

By linking AI governance with development cooperation, China is positioning itself as a partner for countries that are often underrepresented in global affairs. It also taps into a longstanding frustration in Global South countries which have long been calling for more say on international arena.

Xi's speech and the conference in Shanghai is a statement of China's sincerity in building a community with a shared future for humanity in the AI age where the benefits of intelligent technologies should not stop at the borders of the rich economies.

The author is a Beijing-based political and international relations analyst. She writes on topics about the US, the EU, and the Middle East.

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