Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of 2026 World Artificial Intelligence (AI) Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance and deliver a keynote speech, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced on Monday.
The conference will be held in Shanghai from July 17 to 20.
At a regular briefing, Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman briefed the media on the situation of the conference.
"With the theme of 'AI Partnership for a Brighter Future', the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance will be held in Shanghai from July 17 to 20. President Xi Jinping will attend and address the opening ceremony, in which he will systemically elaborate on China's policies, position, visions and propositions on AI development and governance. China has invited government officials and people across industries, universities and research institutes around the world, as well as heads of international organizations to share the moment together in China," he said.
"At present, AI technological innovation is undergoing broad-based breakthroughs, demonstrating unprecedented dynamism. Such progress brings both opportunities and challenges to the international community, making AI governance a profound topic of our times. Over the years, in the field of AI, China has been acting on the four global initiatives and the Global AI Governance Initiative put forward by President Xi. China is committed to providing international public goods, advocating AI for good and for all with real actions, and helping the Global South strengthen capacity-building. Our efforts are highly commended by the international community," said Lin. "Through this conference, China looks forward to building a platform for various parties to enhance mutual trust, pool consensus, and deepen cooperation so as to promote the healthy, safe and orderly development of AI, and make this conference a milestone in the history of AI development," Lin said.
Xi to attend opening ceremony of 2026 World AI Conference, deliver keynote speech
Xi to attend opening ceremony of 2026 World AI Conference, deliver keynote speech
Israel is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on Tuesday, its first national vote since the Oct. 7, 2023 outbreak of the Palestine-Israel conflict, amid deep divisions among voters over national security and the country's political direction.
Ahead of polling day, voters interviewed by China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Jerusalem identified security concerns and whether to continue supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as key issues shaping their electoral choices.
"The most topic issue for me is the security of the country and what we deal with, and second also the unification of our country, of our people. So, for the unification of the country, I will say that I would support the others, not Netanyahu. But for the safety of the country, I think Netanyahu is the best manager of the situation right now, so I would vote for him probably," said Benny, a Jerusalem resident.
Still, prolonged geopolitical tensions and ongoing fighting have shaken many voters' confidence in the incumbent government's ability to ensure national security.
"I think that this has been an absolute failure; someone who put himself as Mr. Security, I think we're in a worse position than we were. The stalemate that we have with Iran, we haven't accomplished our goals. Politically, we're in a worse situation than we were before. And again, with Hezbollah, despite the military successes, we're still stuck there again. And so all this is a stalemate, he hasn't been able to prove himself, he's not able to move forward," said Evan, another resident.
Meanwhile, some moderate voters are calling for greater unity among different social and ethnic groups within the country, arguing that this is a more pressing priority than security concerns.
"I am most concerned about social issues, there seems to be a big divide in Israel between left and right. I think we need more unity," said Jerusalem resident Raphael.
For peace advocates, ending the Palestine-Israel conflict and the occupation, and promoting coexistence among different communities, remain top priorities. Many ordinary citizens say they are tired of political polarization and prolonged conflict, and are calling for meaningful change.
"Security means peace and it means that taking care of what we did in Gaza and to let people, Jews, Arabs, all nations to live here in peace. Settlers are able to do whatever they do because on their side there are the army and the police, and I hope that there would be someone else on top that really wants to solve it. We didn't achieve anything; we didn't achieve it. It all went the wrong way," said Jerusalem resident Tamara.
Israeli voters divided ahead of national elections
