Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered his first-ever keynote address at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) on 22 July 2026 at the Shanghai Expo Centre, declaring that China would seize the “rare historic opportunity” of AI-driven growth by “encouraging open source, openness, collaboration and sharing.” The speech elevated what was already the most heavily attended WAIC since the event’s founding in 2018, with traffic grinding to a halt 2 km from the venue as temperatures climbed to nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Xi’s Keynote Sets the Tone

The presence of President Xi Jinping was the defining moment of this year’s conference, marking a significant elevation in the political weight attached to artificial intelligence development in China. His call for open-source collaboration and global sharing of AI capabilities signals that Beijing views AI not merely as a domestic industrial priority but as a vehicle for international influence. The address drew immediate responses from research institutions across the globe.

Hong Kong as AI Superconnector

Responding directly to the president’s call, the Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Centre announced the launch of an “LLM Going Global Strategy” at the conference. The centre said it intends to leverage Hong Kong’s unique position as a “superconnector” to channel mainland China’s AI technologies to the rest of the world. The move underscores Hong Kong’s evolving role as a bridge between China’s AI ecosystem and international markets.

Unprecedented Crowd Frenzy

The combination of top-level political endorsement and global excitement around agentic AI pushed attendee enthusiasm to levels organisers had not previously seen. Exhibition tickets officially priced at 168 yuan (US$24.82) were resold on the secondary market for upwards of 1,000 yuan, with demand coming not only from industry professionals tracking the latest AI trends but also from parents and young graduates seeking a foothold in the rapidly expanding sector. Scores of attendees abandoned their taxis and walked the final stretch to the venue under the scorching sun.

Industry Giants on Display

The exhibition floor featured prominent representation from China’s leading technology companies, including Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group Holding, Huawei Technologies, Moore Threads, Enflame, Kunlunxin, and MetaX, alongside hardware showcases such as the Altas SuperPod. Luckin Coffee also maintained a visible presence, reflecting the conference’s sprawling commercial ecosystem. The gathering illustrated the depth of China’s domestic AI supply chain, from chip design to large language model deployment.

What’s Next

With Xi Jinping’s personal imprimatur now attached to the open-source AI agenda, expect accelerated policy support for cross-border AI collaboration and a sharper push by Chinese firms to internationalise their models and infrastructure. The Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Centre’s global LLM strategy will be one of the earliest concrete tests of whether that political ambition translates into measurable technology transfer. Observers will be watching whether Western AI labs and governments treat the overture as an opportunity or a strategic risk.