Xi Jinping attends World AI Conference, 'open source' becomes China's strategic narrative

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a rare personal appearance at the 8th World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, delivering a keynote address that highlighted "controllable" AI development and advocated for global cooperation. Xi stressed that AI progress should not be a "solo performance" for any single country but a "global symphony of cooperation," urging the embrace of "open source, cooperation, and sharing" to seize historical opportunities.

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Artificial intelligence development should always be controllable and should oppose the generalization of the concept of national security.

Xi's participation and speech signal China's ambition to elevate its AI sector from a mere "industrial development tool" to a significant player in "global shared governance." This strategic narrative, particularly the emphasis on "open source," is seen by analysts as a key response to the escalating US-China tech competition and Western restrictions on chip exports. By framing open-source AI as a "public good," China aims to challenge what it perceives as a "Western-dominated closed technology ecosystem" and position itself as a leader in shaping a more inclusive global AI order.

Vivian Toh, editor-in-chief of TechTechChina, suggests that China's competitive edge in open-source AI lies in its "cost-effectiveness." She believes China's approach is not about dismantling existing Western systems but about carving out a new path characterized by "low cost and high collaboration." This strategy leverages cost as a lever to influence the global market, offering highly competitive AI models.

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AI development should not be a solo performance for one country, but a global symphony of cooperation.

However, Kyle Chan, a researcher at the Brookings Institution's John L. Thornton China Center, posits that Chinese AI companies might adopt a hybrid strategy, combining open-source and closed-source models to address revenue growth pressures. This contrasts with Western leaders like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, which often maintain closed or limited-access models with proprietary parameters and training data. The US government's export controls further aim to restrict advanced AI capabilities, such as high-end AI chips, to allied nations.

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We must seize the rare historical opportunity and encourage open source, cooperation, and sharing.

Xi's presence at WAIC is interpreted not just as a showcase of China's AI capabilities but also as an indirect response to US and allied technological restrictions. By framing these challenges as opportunities for active competition rather than purely defensive measures, China seeks to transform technological limitations into a strategic advantage in the global AI landscape.

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China's AI sharing and open source is a good remedy for the growing digital divide in AI worldwide.