President Xi Jinping will speak on Friday at the opening of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), China’s largest annual event for the AI industry.Xi’s personal attendance elevates the conference’s profile, and indicates AI development has become both a technological imperative and a cornerstone of China’s geopolitical strategy.As Washington maintains strict export controls on advanced semiconductors and restricts overseas access to top AI models, Beijing is accelerating its drive for tech self-reliance.Reporting by Sylvia Ma, Coco Feng and Howard LiuMore from our coverage:
China’s Xi Jinping addresses World AI Conference as US tech rivalry heats up
President’s personal attendance seen as a sign of China’s inclusion of artificial intelligence into broader geopolitical strategy.
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