President Xi Jinping said Friday that artificial intelligence should not be dominated by any single nation during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai [1].
This position signals China's intent to challenge the current concentration of AI power and establish itself as a leader in global governance. By advocating for a more distributed system of control, Beijing is positioning itself as a champion for developing nations that lack the infrastructure to compete with the U.S. and other tech giants.
Xi called for a "symphony of global cooperation" to establish a governance system that is both just and equitable [1]. He said that AI should not be a solo performance by a single country [1]. The president said the need to ensure that AI remains under human control and that its benefits are shared across all nations [2].
To support this vision, Xi announced that China will provide 5,000 AI training opportunities for people from developing countries [1]. This initiative aims to bridge the digital divide and prevent a monopoly on the technology's evolution [2].
While some reports focused on the call for unity, others noted that Xi addressed the tension between the two superpowers [4]. He said that recent curbs on technology sharing by the U.S. are squeezing China's access to critical AI tools [4]. This friction underscores the paradox of calling for global cooperation while facing restrictive trade policies from a primary competitor.
Xi's remarks come as the global race for AI supremacy accelerates — a competition that spans economic, military, and social spheres. He said that an equitable system is the only way to prevent the technology from becoming a tool for hegemony [2].
“AI should not be a solo performance by a single country.”
Xi's rhetoric reflects a strategic effort to pivot the AI narrative from a bilateral competition between the U.S. and China to a multilateral struggle for equity. By offering training to developing nations, China is attempting to build a coalition of 'AI-poor' countries to counterbalance U.S. tech dominance and justify its own push for global influence in AI governance.
