Xi to outline AI diplomacy vision at key Shanghai forum

• Huawei's Atlas 950 SuperPoD system, linking thousands of Ascend AI processors, showcases China's efforts to circumvent Western sanctions; DeepSeek's V4 model reportedly runs entirely on Huawei's Ascend chips
• Beijing is promoting its open-source AI models as a 'public good' to bridge global AI inequality, contrasting with closed U.S. models, and proposed creating a World AI Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) with no formal members yet
• The conference coincides with U.S.-China preparations for first government-level AI talks under Trump administration; major U.S. tech firms show little representation while UN Secretary-General and multiple world leaders will attend

Summary

Chinese President Xi Jinping will outline China's AI governance vision at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 17-20, marking his first attendance at the annual forum and underscoring AI's strategic importance to Beijing. The event serves as a geopolitical platform as Washington and Beijing prepare for their first government-level AI talks under the Trump administration.

Key Developments:

Huawei will debut its Atlas 950 SuperPoD, a large-scale AI computing cluster using thousands of Ascend processors, demonstrating China's progress in building alternatives to Nvidia's advanced chips amid Western sanctions. DeepSeek's V4 model already runs entirely on Huawei's Ascend chips. Chinese chipmakers Biren and MetaX will also unveil new computing clusters.

Strategic Positioning:

China is promoting its open-source AI models as low-cost public goods to counter U.S. "technological monopoly," framing them as solutions to global AI inequality. Beijing proposed creating a World AI Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) at last year's conference, though no formal memberships have been announced. Progress on WAICO and the Global AI Governance Initiative is expected at this year's event.

Attendees:

International participants include UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Kazakhstan's President Tokayev, Thailand's Prime Minister Charnvirakul, and nine Nobel/Turing laureates including AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Richard Sutton. Notably, major U.S. tech firms have minimal representation.

Market Implications:

Xi previously compared AI to transformations following the steam engine, with Beijing betting on AI diffusion throughout its economy and achieving technological self-sufficiency. Additional product launches include AI smartphones from ZTE-owned Nubia and startup StepFun.