Chinese President Xi Jinping used a major speech on artificial intelligence to call for greater international openness around AI development while warning that safeguards are needed to prevent misuse. He argued AI is shifting from the digital to the physical world and represents a historic opportunity for open-source collaboration, but also urged countries to establish laws, monitoring systems and emergency response mechanisms to keep AI "always under human control." He also criticised nations that prioritise their own security over others' in AI policy, a remark widely read as a swipe at US restrictions on advanced AI models.

Xi framed AI governance as a global cooperation issue, saying China wants to help "global South" countries bridge the AI divide and avoid new inequalities. To back this, China last week launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), with 29 member states including Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Pakistan, Brazil and South Africa — several of which also belong to the BRICS bloc that China views as a counterweight to Western-led alliances.