China is willing to work with all parties to make AI a lasting source of benefits and a major driving force for the welfare of all humanity, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.
Mao made the remarks in response to a media query on an AI capacity building workshop held in Beijing.
"In the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, President Xi Jinping announced that in the next five years, China will provide developing countries with 5,000 opportunities in AI training and seminar programs. To ensure its early implementation, China is hosting once again a Workshop on AI Capacity-Building in Peking University from September 7 to 12," said Mao.
"As part of the continued efforts to implement the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All, China established the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, in an effort to make relevant technologies and services more accessible, and help Global South countries find a path to AI development suited to their needs. We will work with various parties to make AI a lasting source of benefits and a major driving force for the welfare of all humanity," she said.
Spokeswoman on China's commitment to AI development
The 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) opened in the coastal city of Xiamen in east China's Fujian Province on Tuesday, drawing international exhibitors and delegations to connect global investors with key Chinese markets.
The four-day fair has brought together over 1,200 government agencies and business delegations from 129 countries and regions, which includes 48 of the world's top 50 economies by GDP, while 30 international organizations are also participating.
This year's event marks the biggest ever edition of the long-running trade fair, with the total exhibition space expanding to some 200,000 square meters. It also features 14 specialized exhibition zones, showcasing investment opportunities in various promising sectors including China's "new quality productive forces", an economic strategy which stresses high-tech innovation as a new growth driver, as well as the "Silk Road Maritime" initiative, which looks to resurrect ancient sea trading routes.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Zhou Zuyi, secretary of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said Fujian will step up efforts to establish new mechanisms for a more open economy.
"We will keep expanding institutional opening-up and actively aligning with high-standard global trade rules. We're seizing the opportunity from the pilot program to expand services trade. We're also upgrading our free trade zones, focusing on tech innovation, green development, and digital economy. All to build a more open economy, faster," Zhou said.
This year's edition has also introduced a "dual guest countries of honor" mechanism for the first time, with Finland and Saudi Arabia jointly assuming the role. Two Chinese guest provinces have also been named, with the southern Guangdong and the northwestern Qinghai Province given the honor. The fair is structured around three core thematic sections, namely "Invest in China," "China's Outbound Investment," and "International Investment," and will also see more than 40 key investment promotion events, along with nearly 100 supporting activities being held.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Pedro Manuel Moreno, the Acting Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), emphasized that increasing investment in key strategic fields is essential, saying the trade fair offers a valuable platform for exchanges.
"Strategic sectors, like AI, semiconductors, critical minerals, or clean energy now account for almost half of the value of all new investment projects. This is why I believe gatherings like CIFIT matter more than ever, because the central challenge today is no longer only to mobilize more capital. It is to connect capital to the right projects, in the right places," he said.
First launched in 1997, the CIFIT, organized by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, has become an important platform for boosting investment and facilitating global development.
Global investors, business leaders gather in Xiamen for int'l investment, trade fair
