Xi Jinping warns against creating ‘new historical injustices’ in AI era

South China Morning Post | Sylvia Main and Howard Liu

Chinese President Xi Jinping advocated for a more inclusive global artificial intelligence order at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, warning against "new historical injustices" as tech rivalries with the United States intensify. This high-profile address directly countered recent American accusations of Chinese state-sponsored election data theft.

His first in-person appearance at the event since 2018 aims to position the nation as a champion for the Global South, offering alternative technology ecosystems to bypass Western export controls and corporate blacklists. To solidify this leadership, the government pledged 5,000 training programmes and established regional cooperation centres with organizations like ASEAN and the African Union. Meanwhile, the National Development and Reform Commission launched an action plan to facilitate cross-border data flows and expand computing access. These initiatives, alongside the newly established World AI Cooperation Organization, signal a coordinated effort to challenge Washington's dominance over critical supply chains, hardware, and international governance standards.

Comment

Establishing the World AI Cooperation Organisation represents a calculated attempt to institutionalise a parallel technological ecosystem. By offering open-source models to developing nations, this framework seeks to undermine the efficacy of unilateral export controls. This strategy exploits the infrastructure deficit in the Global South to secure long-term dependency on non-Western digital architecture. Consequently, democratic efforts to establish global safety norms through forums like the Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit risk being fragmented into competing regulatory blocs.

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