China's Xi calls for step up of global effort in AI, as US curbs squeeze China's tech access

Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics China's Xi calls for step up of global effort in AI, as US curbs squeeze China's tech access American-led restrictions have blocked China from accessing some of the world's most advanced technologies, spurring China's efforts to build its own know-how and intensifying the tech race between the world's two biggest economies. Ng Han Guan/AP Pool hide caption SHANGHAI — Development and governance of artificial intelligence should be a global effort, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday, while reiterating China's objections to what he called the "overstretching" of national security concerns. Speaking at a conference in Shanghai, Xi said AI should not be dominated by any single nation. American-led restrictions have blocked China from accessing some of the world's most advanced technologies, spurring China's efforts to build its own know-how and intensifying the tech race between the world's two biggest economies. "The development of artificial intelligence should not be a solo performance by any single country but rather a symphony of global cooperation," Xi said at China's annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. Others attending included the leaders of Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Thailand and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. "We should together oppose the practice of overstretching the concept of national security in the field of artificial intelligence, and of placing one's own security above that of other countries," he said, repeating a longstanding Chinese complaint. Over the next five years, he said China will provide 5,000 training opportunities on artificial intelligence to developing countries. China will expand AI cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS countries, Xi said. He promised to provide access for 30 countries to a Chinese-developed AI meteorological system that provides early warning systems. A day earlier, 29 countries including Pakistan, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement with China to establish a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. State media described it as an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Shanghai promoting global AI governance. More than 1,100 companies and 1,400 guests are participating in the annual AI conference this year, state media said. During the conference, tech giant Huawei will be showcasing its powerful AI computing system, the Atlas 950 SuperPoD,. Some technology analysts now believe China has become an innovator in AI and is no longer just catching up with the U.S. China's five-year plan until 2030 has prioritized progress in frontiers of science and technology including AI. China's open-source AI models, like DeepSeek, have been seen as appealing and often times more affordable alternatives globally to U.S. AI models, which are largely closed-source, and especially across the developing world. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor