A China-led global initiative on mutual trust and interconnectivity among artificial intelligence (AI) agents was released on Friday in Shanghai, aiming to build broad consensus and work with global partners toward an open, trustworthy, secure, and inclusive agent ecosystem.
The initiative was put forward by the Cyberspace Administration of China, in collaboration with relevant authorities, during the main forum of the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, which kicked off on Friday.
Mutual trust, interconnectivity, and interoperability are the three keywords of the initiative. The extent to which these dimensions are realized in AI agents -- one of the most transformative technological forms of the AI era -- is profoundly shaping the integration of the global digital economy and the future of human society, according to an Chinese expert in the field.
Under the global cooperation initiative, "mutual trust" serves as the foundation for agent collaboration, "interconnectivity" provides the channel, and "interoperability" establishes the rules of engagement, it is explained.
AI agents are widely seen as the next frontier in technology, following large language models. Unlike models that simply wait for prompts and respond, agents can actively sense their surroundings, map out tasks, call on external tools, and continuously iterate their performance. Yet as the capabilities of a single agent keep expanding, the real headache now is how well multiple agents can work together.
That is precisely why mutual trust, interconnectivity, and interoperability have become indispensable conditions for effective collaboration among agents.
On the industry front, the initiative's implementation is poised to redraw the global AI landscape. Experts said that the AI agent market is increasingly tilting toward dominance by several tech giants, who use closed ecosystems to lock in both users and developers. By championing standardization and open interoperability, however, China's approach offers smaller enterprises and independent developers a new path to participate equitably in the intelligent industry.
"AI is a shared asset of all humanity. Its development should never be a solo act by any one country -- it has to be a symphony of global collaboration. The vision of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits breaks with the old zero-sum mindset, champions a new paradigm of win-win collaboration, and provides the most solid foundation and the clearest pathway toward a fairer and more equitable global AI governance system. This is not just China's proposal -- it is the wisdom that belongs to the whole world," said Zhang Yitian, dean of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence Development and Governance at Harbin Institute of Technology.
China-led global initiative unveils framework for AI agent collaboration rules
China's total box office revenue for the 2026 summer movie season has surpassed four billion yuan (about 590 million U.S. dollars), driven by a diverse array of domestic and foreign films, industry data showed on Saturday.
The total box office revenue in 2026 has topped 19.7 billion yuan so far. The data includes current screenings and pre-sale tickets.
Nearly 90 Chinese and foreign films are scheduled for the summer season, which runs from June 1 to August 31, spanning a wide range of genres from revolutionary history and sci-fi to comedy and animation.
Animated films have emerged as a primary engine driving both box office revenue and cultural consumption this season. They include the adventure feature film "All Wishes Come True," the comedy detective film "Demon Agent," and the epic film "Three Kingdoms: The Beginning," which was officially released on Friday.
"All Wishes Come True!", a family comedy inspired by the ancient Chinese Eight Immortals, has moved its release date up to Saturday. The film reimagines the Eight Immortals as ordinary workers, giving them office jobs, performance targets, and mortals' wishes to handle.
"We took a traditional aesthetic approach, such as the color scheme of green mountains and waters and the setting of Penglai, a legendary fairyland. All of this is rooted in traditional Chinese culture," said Cao Linlin, the film's producer.
"I saw 'Three Kingdoms: The Beginning' first, and I really liked it. Then I heard from friends that 'All Wishes Come True!' was fantastic. The plot sounded really interesting to me, so I decided to come and watch it," said a moviegoer.
"Three Kingdoms: The Beginning," now rated 8.1 out of 10 on Douban, China's leading film review social media platform, revisits the political turmoil that preceded the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD). The film, directed by Xie Junwei, comes from the team behind "Chang'an," the animated historical hit released in 2023.
The film follows the rivalries that brought warlords to Luoyang in today's central Henan Province, before their struggles gave rise to the Three Kingdoms period. It also uses poetry associated with Cao Cao to suggest the inner life of a figure better known for military strategy and political ambition.
To make that early world feel lived-in, the filmmakers drew on Han-era architecture, clothing and social customs. A large battle sequence, involving Cao Cao and thousands of new recruits, was animated by hand, with the team aiming for frames that carried the texture of paintings.
"I'm a big fan of Chinese animated films now. They focus more on Chinese stories, and that deeply appeals to me," said another moviegoer.
"We're sparing no effort to leverage animation technology, from visuals to sound and music, to present the classics in the best possible way, so that more people can understand and develop a love for our classic cultural treasures," said Yu Zhou, film producer.
Rich oriental aesthetics and high-quality local stories have not only ignited the passion of domestic audiences but also become the core competitive advantage of Chinese animation in its overseas expansion.
"With more than 5,000 years of civilization, we have a vast source of inspiration to draw from various stories of various dynasties," said Cao Zijian, general producer of comedy detective film "Demon Agent".
China's summer box office exceeds 4 billion yuan
