 "At APEC summit, Xi calls for global AI regulator, positions China as a trade alternative to the US")
Chinese President Xi Jinping took centre stage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit on Saturday, calling for the creation of a global body to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) and positioning China as an alternative to the United States in leading trade cooperation.
Addressing APEC leaders in Gyeongju, South Korea, Xi proposed the establishment of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization to govern the technology’s development, set international rules and foster collaboration among nations.
“Artificial intelligence is of great significance for future development and should be made for the benefit of people in all countries and regions,” Xi said, according to remarks published by China’s state news agency Xinhua. He described AI as a “public good for the international community,” signalling China’s ambition to shape the future of global AI standards.
The proposal marks Xi’s first public statement on the initiative, which Beijing unveiled earlier this year. Chinese officials have indicated that the proposed organisation could be headquartered in Shanghai. The United States, however, has resisted attempts to regulate AI through international bodies, preferring a more decentralised approach led by domestic and private-sector frameworks.
US President Donald Trump skipped the APEC leaders’ meeting, flying back to Washington after a separate meeting with Xi that produced a one-year agreement to partially roll back trade and technology controls—aimed at easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIn Trump’s absence, Xi used the forum to highlight China’s vision of “inclusive multilateralism” and to advocate for “free circulation” of green technologies, including industries such as solar panels and batteries in which China holds a dominant global position.
He also emphasised China’s advances in AI through homegrown developers like DeepSeek, which have built lower-cost models as part of Beijing’s drive for “algorithmic sovereignty” — reducing dependence on U.S. chipmakers such as Nvidia.
The APEC forum, comprising 21 economies accounting for half of global trade, approved a joint declaration and agreements on AI governance and ageing populations at the summit.
China will host the 2026 APEC summit in the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen — a city Xi described as a symbol of China’s economic transformation, having grown from a small fishing village in the 1980s into a global centre for robotics, electric vehicles, and high-tech manufacturing.
Keywords: Xi Jinping, APEC summit, China, artificial intelligence, AI governance, World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, US-China relations, Donald Trump, DeepSeek, Nvidia, green technologies, trade cooperation, Shenzhen, Gyeongju, AI regulation
With inputs from agencies
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