Xi Jinping Makes First Appearance at World AI Conference, 'Open Source' Becomes China's Strategic Narrative

Shanghai hosted the 8th World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and the High-Level Conference on Global AI Governance, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping making his first personal appearance and delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. Analysts note that 'open source' has become a key term in China's AI strategic narrative.

According to BBC Chinese, Xi stated that AI development should 'always remain controllable,' opposed the overuse of national security justifications, and expressed China's willingness to play a major role in global AI openness and collaboration.

Xi said, 'AI development should not be a solo performance by any single country, but a symphony of global cooperation,' and urged stakeholders to 'seize this rare historical opportunity and encourage open source, openness, and shared collaboration.'

Organized by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hosted by Shanghai authorities, the conference serves as a key platform for China to showcase its technological capabilities, sending a clear signal that China aims to elevate its AI strategy from a mere 'industrial development tool' to a 'global shared governance' framework.

Multiple analysts interviewed by BBC Chinese believe that 'open source' has become the central theme of China's AI strategy.

Against the backdrop of intensifying U.S.-China tech rivalry and tightening Western export controls on semiconductors, some analysts argue that China is leveraging the 'public good' narrative of open-source AI to break what it sees as a 'Western-dominated closed technology ecosystem,' positioning itself as a leader in building a more inclusive global AI order.

Chinese state media have also promoted 'open source and sharing' as a core doctrine. People's Daily Online published a commentary today emphasizing that China's open-source AI approach offers a 'viable solution' to the growing global digital divide.

Vivian Toh, semiconductor commentator and editor-in-chief of Singapore-based tech news site TechTechChina, analyzed that China's strategy hinges on using 'cost' as a lever to influence the global market. She noted that the core competitiveness of China's open-source models lies in their 'extreme cost-effectiveness.'

She added that China's unique AI path is not about dismantling Western ecosystems or overthrowing existing systems, but rather about carving out a new track characterized by 'low cost and high collaboration.'

Kyle Chan, a researcher at the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, suggested that under pressure to generate revenue, Chinese AI firms might adopt hybrid strategies combining closed and open-source models.

The report notes that leading Western labs—such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic—typically adopt closed-source or limited-open approaches, keeping core model parameters and training data highly confidential. The U.S. government, meanwhile, uses export controls to restrict advanced AI capabilities—such as high-end AI chips—to 'friendly countries.'

The analysis concludes that Xi Jinping's first attendance at this conference is not only a display of China's AI strength but also an indirect response to the U.S. and its allies. In other words, rather than merely adopting a defensive posture against U.S. tech bans, China is attempting to transform these challenges into proactive competitive advantages.