Imports and exports of goods in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yellow River Basin, and the northeast region all maintained rapid growth in the first six months of this year, reaching record highs for the same period in history, according to official data.
In the first half of this year, the import and export value of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in north China reached 2.58 trillion yuan (380 billion U.S. dollars), up 16.2 percent year on year, accounting for 10.1 percent of the country's total. In June, the figure exceeded 140 billion yuan for the first time.
The total value of trade in goods in the nine provincial-level regions along the Yellow River reached 3.6 trillion yuan in the first six months, up 14.7 percent year on year.
In the northeast region, the total value of foreign trade stood at 656.3 billion yuan in the January-June period, up 8.6 percent year on year, marking a record high for the same period in history.
China's regional foreign trade shows strong growth in H1
Two prominent United Nations officials have lauded China's vision for global artificial intelligence (AI) governance outlined by President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai on Friday.
Zou Ciyong, deputy to the director general and a managing director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and Liu Fang, former chief of the U.N. agency International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), both spoke highly of China's efforts to promote collaborative, inclusive AI policies in separate interviews with China Global Television Network (CGTN), after attending the ceremony alongside other world leaders, official representatives, business leaders, scholars and researchers from more than 100 countries and international organizations.
In a keynote speech delivered at the opening ceremony, Xi announced the creation of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) and called for joint efforts to build a just and equitable system for global AI governance.
To Zou, China's emphasis on open-source and inclusive AI as a global public good is worthy of praises, adding that the approach aligns with the Global Digital Compact, a comprehensive global framework for digital cooperation and governance of AI.
"We see clearly now China as [is] one of the few leading countries that is focused on promoting its open source [AI models] and open-source approach. The benefits of these to the global source is that they could get access easily without paying something they cannot afford to. This is the beauty of the open-source approach. This also is well aligned with the approach advocated by the Global Digital Compact, which was unanimously endorsed by the UN General Assembly," he said.
On the issue of AI regulation and risks, Xi urged jointly efforts to oppose overstretching the national security concept in the field of AI and placing one country's security over that of others.
He called for enhancing alignment and coordination on AI development strategies, governance rules and technical standards, so as to form a consensus-based global governance framework at an early date to make this frontier technology better benefit humanity.
Liu echoed this sentiment, saying that global AI development must embrace inclusive rule-making.
"China's observations on global AI governance has been widely recognized by the international community. AI rules should not be formulated by a small group of technologically advanced countries and then passively accepted by the rest of the world," she said.
Xi said in his speech that the establishment of WAICO is a major move by China to answer the call of the Global South and unite the international community in advancing AI development and governance.
The organization, headquartered in Shanghai, aims to ensure that AI is beneficial, safe and fair, and serves the benefit of all humanity, according to the organization's founding agreement.
Zou hailed the organization as a key platform that seeks to bridge widening gaps in AI development.
"From UNIDO's perspective, we see this as a very, I think, strategic kind of, like a platform for promoting this kind of capacity building. Therefore, the global source to get understand about the trend of the AI development and deployment, also to benefit from this. This organization will provide a unique platform to promote this responsible AI, and also this core benefit to be share by all the participants," he said.
Running from Friday to Monday, the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance features more than 140 forums and an exhibition area exceeding 100,000 square meters, with over 1,100 enterprises expected to participate.
U.N. officials laud China's inclusive vision for global AI governance
