The first, create a global center that regulates AI. The second, be in Shanghai

The Chinese president presented at the APEC summit your proposal to establish a World Organization for Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence. It is the first time that Xi speaks publicly about this initiative that Beijing has been working on since the beginning of the year, and the message is clear: China wants to lead the global governance of AI compared to the United States.

A proposal in a regulatory vacuum. Xi Jinping defend that this international body should establish AI governance rules and encourage cooperation between countries, turning artificial intelligence into “a public good for the international community,” according to collect the Xinhua agency. The Chinese leader stressed that “artificial intelligence is of great importance for future development and should be done for the benefit of people in all countries and regions.” The United States, for its part, has rejected attempts to regulate AI through international organizations, leaving the door open for other powers to take the initiative.

Shanghai as a technological epicenter. Official Chinese sources have confirmed that the organization would be based in Shanghai, the country’s financial and technological center. The election seeks to consolidate the city’s position as a global benchmark in innovation and strengthen the Chinese technological ecosystem at a time when Beijing is promoting what it calls “algorithmic sovereignty”, as they mention from Reuters.

A recent example is that of DeepSeekwho launched cheaper AI models as an alternative to Western solutions dominated by advanced Nvidia chips. Additionally, China has a large presence when it comes to open source models, with companies such as Alibaba being the reference through their models qwen.

Strategy. The proposal comes at a strategic moment. The APEC summit, which brings together 21 nations that represent half of world trade, approved a joint declaration and pacts on AI and the challenge of population aging. China took advantage of this scenario to position itself as a leader in multilateral cooperation, especially after Trump’s absence at the leaders’ summit held in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.

The American president returned directly to Washington after his bilateral meeting with Xia meeting in which a temporary one-year agreement was promised to partially reduce the trade and technological controls that had triggered tension between the two largest economies in the world.

Beyond AI: green technologies. Xi too took advantage the forum to urge APEC members to promote the “free circulation” of green technologies, a sector that ranges from batteries to solar panels and in which China largely dominates. This is a complementary strategy, as the country seeks to maintain its competitive advantage while proposing to regulate AI at a global level.

Next stop: Shenzhen 2026. China will host the APEC summit in 2026 in Shenzhena city of almost 18 million inhabitants that Xi described as a former fishing village transformed into a technological power after becoming one of the country’s first special economic zones in the 1980s. Today it is a nerve center for advanced manufacturing, from robotics to the production of electric cars. It will be a new opportunity for Beijing to continue pushing its vision of technological and commercial cooperation.

Cover image | aboodi vesakaran and Xataka with Mockup Studio

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