Global firms eye partnerships as China’s AI sector expands

Global business leaders at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai highlighted China’s growing role as a global partner of AI, pointing to its increasingly open ecosystem and expanding role in global innovation.

A recent Pew survey shows China now surpassing the United States in favorability across most of the 36 countries polled, underscoring broader changes in global perception.

Against this backdrop, conference guests emphasized deeper ties with China’s AI industry, stressing collaboration and mutual learning as recurring themes.

"I think you guys are moving a lot quicker. When you walk around the US, you're not seeing robots the way you're seeing it here. In China it seems like it's part of everyday life. I think a lot of people in the Western space don't realize how quickly the Asian market moves. So we would love to connect with, for example, Asian investors, especially in China, and find opportunities for us to work together," said Banu Jafarli, head of product of Spreeai.

"We have about eight start-up companies that we are bringing here, because China is like a speed train so you can do many new things very quickly, which is quite effective and interesting. And finally, because the infrastructure is good and we have the possibility to do a lot here in China," said Dali Nikolovski founder and CEO of La French Tech.

"We have very good collaboration with Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance. China is showing that they are leading in the world on AI topics, and also robotics is really moving fast in China. So all those things are making China really the right place to innovate on data and AI and the place where the rest of the world can learn from what China is doing," said Xavier Mussard, partner of Artefact.

"They think China is building the modern data infrastructure and AI infrastructure. So they hope to learn from China, from Chinese companies. And today we're announcing a GPU native database that is the world's first database running entirely on a GPU. And we have signed an agreement with a Turkish IT company (for) potential collaboration in the Turkish market," said Sun Yuanhan, founder and CEO of Transwarp Technology (Shanghai).

The 2026 WAIC is running from Friday to Monday, bringing together global experts, government and business representatives, scholars, and investors to discuss new opportunities in AI development.

Global firms eye partnerships as China’s AI sector expands

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham formed a new cabinet on Monday, appointing former Defense Secretary John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer, according to a statement from the his office.

Healey had resigned as defense secretary following disagreements over the previous government's defense spending plans. British media described his appointment as chancellor as unexpected.

Ed Miliband was appointed foreign secretary, while Shabana Mahmood remained home secretary. Louise Haigh was named first secretary of state, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the Cabinet Office. Yvette Cooper was appointed health secretary, while Pat McFadden remained as work and pensions secretary.

In his inaugural speech outside 10 Downing Street earlier on Monday, Burnham pledged to deliver "the biggest changes in the last 40 years" and introduce "a new political model and a new economic model."

After Keir Starmer resigned as British prime minister on the same day, Burnham, the new leader of the ruling Labor Party, accepted King Charles III's invitation at Buckingham Palace to form a government and officially became the British prime minister.

British new PM Burnham forms new cabinet