World Artificial Intelligence Conference Opens in Shanghai With Global Push for AI Cooperation

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference opened in Shanghai this week alongside a High-Level Meeting on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence and a major technology exhibition, running from July 17 to 20. The gathering drew guests including Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and high-ranking delegates from more than 100 countries and international organisations.

Opening the conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined what he called a people-centred approach to AI development, saying the technology should serve as a driver of universal prosperity and security rather than division. He said states need to work together to build a fair and rational system for managing the field, and announced that China would provide 5,000 quotas over the next five years for international exchange programmes, alongside new cooperation centres with partner blocs including ASEAN, the Arab League, the African Union, CELAC, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

At the High-Level Meeting, Oleg Kopylov, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, briefed attendees on the bloc's work in the AI field, pointing to a statement adopted by SCO heads of state at last year's summit in Tianjin on deepening international cooperation on the technology. He said there was broad readiness among states, international organisations, science and business to unify efforts toward a secure, fair and inclusive digital future.

On the eve of the conference, representatives of 29 countries signed an agreement establishing a new World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, including 11 members of the SCO community such as Belarus, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Under the agreement, the new body will be guided by the provisions of the UN Charter and rely on consultation and a principle of shared benefit.

Shanghai has hosted an AI conference every year since 2018, but this year's edition carries added weight after Chinese Premier Li Qiang first floated the idea of a dedicated world AI cooperation body back in 2025. With more than 300 new products reportedly unveiled across the event's exhibition halls, organisers are billing this year's gathering as a turning point for how the world manages a technology moving faster than most governments can regulate it.