The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance (WAIC) will take place in Shanghai next week, with record high exhibition scale in three different areas.
Themed "AI Partnership for a Brighter Future," the event will run from July 17 to 20 with its exhibition spanning the three areas of the Expo area, Zhangjiang, and West Bund.
The conference will include 140 forum sessions, with a total exhibition area exceeding 100,000 square meters.
More than 1,100 enterprises will showcase over 3,000 products at the event, of which over 300 AI products will make their global debut.
"This edition of the conference features six major segments including forums and conference, exhibitions and showcase, awards and competitions, application experience, innovation incubation and talent recruitment. At present, preparations across all segments have entered the final sprint phase," Chen Jie, vice mayor of Shanghai, said at a press conference Tuesday in Shanghai.
"The conference has the participation of 12 national ministries and commissions, eight national key laboratories, and over ten international organizations, bringing together more than 1,400 Chinese and international guests. This year's WAIC will also inaugurate a high-level international academic conference for the first time," Chen said.
2026 World AI Conference to take place in Shanghai
2026 World AI Conference to take place in Shanghai
Now a quiet retiree, Wang Yuchang, a recipient of the July 1 Medal, has led a life dedicated to military service, operating in secrecy and carrying out missions few ever knew existed.
Wang was among eight recipients of the July 1 Medal, the highest honorary medal of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), personally conferred by General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping at a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing on Wednesday.
Over 60 years ago, Wang was decorated with a first-class merit. However, he has kept the award in silence all these years.
"The military said it was top secret — never to be disclosed. So I locked these certificates away for decades," said Wang during an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Xiaoxian County of east China's Anhui Province.
Born in 1936 into a farming family in Xiaoxian County, Wang grew up in hardship. At 18, he joined the military and enlisted in the Air Force. In 1958, he was selected for a newly formed, highly classified unit — the ground-to-air missile force.
Then came a challenging mission, as a new threat had entered Chinese airspace in the form of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The U-2 was a fast, high-flying plane that was nearly impossible to intercept at the time.
Wang and his unit were given a single order to find the aircraft and stop them. With no experience to rely on, they trained repeatedly until precision became instinct.
They moved across more than ten provinces, covering over 20,000 kilometers, chasing a target that often seemed invisible.
In November 1963, and again in July 1964, two U-2 aircraft entered the kill zone. Using a tactic that would become known as a "close-range rapid strike", Wang and his comrades struck with precision, downing both targets.
"When the aircraft was hit and began to fall, everyone — whether we knew each other or not — cheered and clapped. It was overwhelming," Wang recalled.
For his contributions in air defense operations, Wang earned first-class merit and was promoted ahead of schedule. It was also during this period that he officially joined the CPC.
In 1973, after 19 years in uniform, Wang left the military and returned to civilian life as an ordinary retail counter clerk, though he always remained ready to serve his country.
"If the Party needs me, I do it. I'm like a brick — wherever the Party tells me to go, I go," said Wang.
For 45 years, he never spoke of his battlefield past. It was only in 2018, during China's nationwide veterans' registration program, that his hidden history was finally revealed.
Retired soldier honored for serving in missions kept secret for 60 years
