China eyes global AI body as U.S. rivalry intensifies

China has signalled plans to establish an international organisation for artificial intelligence, seeking to position itself as a counterweight to the United States in shaping the future of the technology.

Premier Li Qiang announced the proposal at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, saying Beijing wanted to help coordinate global regulation of AI and share its advances, especially with developing nations. He warned against allowing AI to become the preserve of a few powerful countries and companies.

The plan comes as Washington pursues its own AI blueprint, unveiled by President Donald Trump’s administration this week, aimed at boosting American AI exports to allies and maintaining a competitive edge over China.

Li said China was prepared to share its experience and products with the Global South, describing the current state of AI governance as fragmented. He called for a global framework with broad consensus and urged greater cooperation to overcome bottlenecks such as limited AI chip supplies and restrictions on talent exchange.

Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu told a roundtable of delegates from more than 30 countries that the new body would promote pragmatic cooperation and could be headquartered in Shanghai. China’s foreign ministry also published an action plan for global AI governance, inviting governments, companies and research institutions to collaborate through open-source platforms.

The three-day Shanghai event has drawn more than 800 companies and 3,000 products, including 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots. Leading Chinese firms Huawei and Alibaba are showcasing innovations alongside international players such as Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon.

Saturday’s speakers included Anne Bouverot, the French president’s special envoy for AI, computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Tesla chief Elon Musk, a regular presence in past years, did not speak at this year’s conference.

Washington has imposed restrictions on exporting advanced AI chips to China, citing concerns about military use, even as Chinese firms continue to make breakthroughs that have drawn close U.S. scrutiny.

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