Chinese solutions lay out clear direction for global AI governance: Int'l WAIC attendees

International participants at the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance have hailed President Xi Jinping's keynote speech, saying it lays out a clear direction for building a just and equitable global system for artificial intelligence governance.

Xi on Friday presented four observations on AI development and governance while addressing the opening ceremony of the WAIC in Shanghai.

He called for adherence to the principle of openness and win-win cooperation while boosting innovation-driven development, strengthening risk awareness and ensuring that AI is secure and controllable, encouraging inclusiveness and promoting mutual learning among civilizations, and advocating solidarity and improving global governance.

According to experts and officials in attendance from around the world, the Chinese president's remarks displayed clear leadership.

"China is leading the way. The inspiration from President Xi is what we need at this time, especially to deal with some of the risk of AI. China has placed (its efforts), for the last three years at least, at the United Nations all in for global governance and AI where governments will come together, as well as the private sector, so to determine privacy, security and to use AI for good," said Vince Henderson, foreign minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

"Indeed, his speech was very inspiring on what to do, where to go, and especially the importance of international collaboration in AI, but in everything," said 2025 Turing Award winner Gilles Brassard.

President Xi emphasized in his speech broadening international cooperation and bridging the digital and intelligence divides, which international attendees said will help ensure that artificial intelligence brings benefits to humanity in a responsible manner.

"The key message is that AI should bring benefit to humanity and in a responsible way, and to reach that status, we need to cooperate and work together. Global South countries, as much as countries from the West or from any other developed nation should participate in driving the governance," said Tatiana Schmollack-Tarasova, Greater China managing director of British Standards Institution (BSI).

"I was deeply impressed, to be honest. Everything the president said this morning, I would sign and I would fully agree with and I would wish that more leaders around the world would have the same mindset and would come together, because AI is both the biggest opportunity of our time and the biggest threat, and this leads us to governance," said German scholar Max Muhlhauser.

China is a global leader in AI development. In 2025, its core AI industries were worth over 1.2 trillion yuan (about 176.6 billion U.S. dollars), while the number of AI enterprises nationwide exceeded 6,200.

The country's open-source large AI models have been downloaded more than 10 billion times in total, continuing to create new and broader opportunities for global cooperation in AI innovation.

Chinese solutions lay out clear direction for global AI governance: Int'l WAIC attendees

Business leaders, researchers and entrepreneurs from around the world gathered at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), where discussions are focusing on turning AI innovation into cross-border partnerships and real-world applications.

The 2026 WAIC is running in Shanghai from Friday to Monday under the theme "AI Partnership for a Brighter Future."

Across the exhibition halls, conversations often extended beyond product demonstrations, with visitors exploring potential partnerships, supply chains and overseas expansion.

Among them was Paolo Brizzi, chief information officer of Italy's Competence Center for Industry and Manufacturing (CIM), who met with a Chinese AI company to discuss cooperation ranging from industrial applications to entering the European market.

"My point is not to be a customer or a provider of technologies, but to identify parts [where we can] actually collaborate and work together," he said.

The four-day conference has also created opportunities for startups to connect with investors, researchers and potential customers. One startup launched an online networking group on the opening day, attracting hundreds of participants who exchanged ideas, explored business opportunities and sought technical solutions.

Participants said AI innovation depends not only on technological breakthroughs but also on cooperation across industries and countries.

"Collaboration is important because alone you cannot do so much. It needs to be a team support ecosystem," said Florian Wohlrab, CEO of Canada-based OpenHW Foundation.

For many international visitors, the conference is also an opportunity to explore how AI can help address practical challenges. Omar Khan, a participant from Pakistan, said international cooperation is essential to ensuring AI benefits everyone.

"I think, for me, we are all the one. We're human and I think we can cooperate a lot," he said.

Some attendees were looking for solutions to challenges in their home countries. A visitor from Kenya said AI applications such as weather forecast and soil analysis could help improve agricultural productivity across many parts of Africa, where farming remains a cornerstone of the economy.

As countries race to advance AI technologies, participants at this year's WAIC said the conference has become a platform for connecting ideas, technology and demand across borders, helping turn AI innovation into practical international cooperation.

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