Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, called for global cooperation on artificial intelligence Friday. He warned against countries prioritizing their own national security interests above those of others. This statement directly challenges American-led restrictions that have systematically blocked China from accessing advanced technologies, intensifying the global struggle for technological dominance and market control.
Xi asserted that AI development should not be a “solo performance by any single country” but rather a “symphony of global cooperation.” His remarks came as the rivalry between the world’s two largest economies deepens, spurred by US efforts to curb China’s access to critical AI components and expertise. China, in turn, has intensified its own drive to build indigenous technological know-how.
The Battle for Technological Hegemony
The US-led restrictions are designed to protect the market share and intellectual property of American tech giants. They function as a barrier to China's capital accumulation in this critical sector. Xi’s speech, delivered at the opening of China’s annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference, reiterated a longstanding Chinese complaint against the “practice of overstretching the concept of national security” in AI.
China is actively expanding AI cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the BRICS countries. This network building aims to secure markets and influence for Chinese capital. Xi pledged to provide access to a Chinese-developed AI meteorological tool for 30 countries, offering early warning systems. Over the next five years, China will provide 5,000 AI training opportunities to developing countries, a move framed as preventing “historical injustice in AI.”
Capital's Global Reach
Ahead of the conference, 29 countries, including Pakistan, Russia, and Kazakhstan, signed an agreement with China to establish a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. State media described this as an intergovernmental body headquartered in Shanghai, promoting global AI governance. This new organization directly counters the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, launched less than one year ago. The Pax Silica framework focuses on strengthening collaboration with U.S. allies and partners on AI-related supply chains, including Japan, the U.K., Australia, the Philippines, Israel, and India.
George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group, noted that Xi’s speech signals China’s intent to be a reliable partner to the “Global South” countries. He stated, “China will not let America be the monopoly of AI technology.” This competition for market dominance extends to the very architecture of AI models. China’s open-source AI models, such as DeepSeek, are seen as appealing and often more affordable than U.S. AI models, which are largely closed-source. Last month, Chinese AI company Zhipu rolled out its new flagship GLM-5.2 open-source model, challenging U.S. rivals like Anthropic.
Managing Contradictions
More than 1,100 companies and 1,400 guests are participating in the annual AI conference. Tech giant Huawei is showcasing its powerful AI computing system, the Atlas 950 SuperPoD. China’s five-year plan until 2030 prioritizes progress in science and technology frontiers, including AI. The Chinese AI startup Moonshot released its latest AI model, Kimi K3, with 2.8 trillion parameters, claiming it will be the world’s largest open-source model.
U.S. politicians and several major U.S. AI companies, including Anthropic, have accused Chinese AI models of “illicit distillation” to extract their technologies. Beijing has labeled these claims “groundless.” U.S. policymakers have also voiced concerns that Chinese AI poses an “economic threat” to the United States. Following a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing about 2 months ago, China and the United States agreed to conduct a dialogue on AI development and governance. Such dialogues, however, do not address the fundamental economic competition for control over the means of production and global markets.