The 2026 World AI Conference and High-level Meeting on Global AI Governance is scheduled to take place in Shanghai from July 17 to 20. President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech. Since its inception in 2018, the conference has been held for eight consecutive editions and has become an important multilateral platform for international AI dialogue and global governance consensus. The theme of this year's conference is 'Intelligent Partners, Co-creating the Future,' reflecting the vision of AI empowering all industries and serving production and daily life.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that AI could be the most powerful engine for development, but its potential harms also deserve attention. The UN's AI Independent International Scientific Panel released an initial assessment report in July, pointing out that the rapid pace of AI development and its wide potential applications pose significant challenges to policymakers, and large-scale, unregulated rapid deployment brings huge risks. The fragmentation of the global AI governance system is also noteworthy, with certain countries instrumentalizing governance as a tool to maintain their own competitive advantages, artificially raising the collaboration costs of global governance.
The World Bank's 'Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025' shows that high-income countries dominate the global TOP500 list of high-performance computing, with significant gaps in system numbers and computing power for low- and middle-income countries. The Africa Data Center Report also indicates that the vast majority of global data center capacity is concentrated in developed economies, with Africa accounting for less than 1%. The digital divide continues to widen, with imbalances in the distribution of resources such as computing power, data, and talent becoming increasingly prominent.
China has put forward multiple initiatives and actions on AI governance. China proposed the 'Global AI Governance Initiative,' opposing the use of AI as a tool for hegemony, opposing exclusive control of resources, dominant rule-making, and the formation of exclusive 'small circles,' as well as the artificial creation of technological barriers. China supports the United Nations in playing a central role in AI governance, has launched the 'Global AI Governance Action Plan,' initiated the 'AI+' international cooperation initiative, and proposed the establishment of a World AI Cooperation Organization.
In terms of capacity building, China facilitated the UN General Assembly's adoption of a resolution on strengthening international cooperation on AI capacity building, proposed and implemented the 'AI Capacity Building Inclusion Plan,' initiated the Group of Friends for International Cooperation on AI Capacity Building, and leverages the World AI Conference to promote technology open-sourcing, knowledge sharing, and industrial collaboration, helping developing countries address their shortcomings in intelligent transformation.