The World Artificial Intelligence Conference opens, with China once again taking a strong lead.

From July 17th to 20th, the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence were held in Shanghai , China . China’s top leader attended and delivered a keynote speech . The conference’s theme was “Intelligent Partners.” With the theme of “Creating the Future Together” , the event encompasses six major sections: forums and conferences, exhibitions, awards and competitions, application experiences, innovation incubation, and talent recruitment. This aims to address concerns about the transformation of artificial intelligence from a technological tool to a collaborative partner , and to jointly shape the vision of global governance, industrial progress, and shared urban benefits.

The conference is divided into three main areas: World Expo, Zhangjiang, and West Bund, with a total exhibition area of over 100,000 square meters . More than 1,100 global companies will participate, showcasing over 3,000 exhibits. A dedicated OPC exhibition area will be set up for the first time, with 180 companies showcasing their achievements. The event is planned to host over 140 thematic forums, bringing together more than 1,400 international guests.

At the pre-conference press conference for the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference , a number of major announcements were made, including the newly upgraded five major ecosystem matrices of WAIC, the TOP30 list of the conference’s highest award, the SAIL Award, the latest developments of WAIC-Academic, the first batch of city routes for WAIC City Walk, and the conference’s first AI ecosystem open platform, the “Hi WAIC” APP. These announcements showcased the innovative layout of this year’s conference in an almost “generous” manner .

During the exhibition, China, as the host country, also showcased a large number of cutting-edge products. Tianshu Zhixin led a group of companies to announce new computing chip products; Wanka and Shiwanka supernodes made their appearance, demonstrating the strong rise of China’s domestic computing power industry chain ; Matrix Super Intelligence released its third-generation full-size flagship humanoid robot , becoming the only Chinese team to master linear joint motion control algorithms and develop the entire stack in-house , and plans to mass-produce 10,000 units by 2027.

In recent years, China has gradually promoted its domestically developed artificial intelligence achievements to the world stage. The Chinese President also emphasized at a conference that “artificial intelligence is of great significance to future development and should benefit people in all countries and regions.” Data shows that in 2025, China’s industrial robot exports increased by 48.7%. In the first quarter of 2026 , the total export value of various separately listed robots from China reached 11.32 billion yuan, with products exported to 148 countries and regions worldwide. Examples include: Chinese robotics company Unitree Robotics collaborating with Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, using humanoid robots to handle ground operations such as baggage container pushing and basic cargo transfer; Chinese autonomous driving technology company WeRide launching its first batch of driverless taxi trial operations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ; and Neolix (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. collaborating with Noon in the UAE to commercialize driverless vehicle delivery , effectively meeting the surge in online shopping demand around Eid al-Fitr and addressing the shortage of manpower in last-mile delivery.

China’s powerful offensive in the field of artificial intelligence is evident to the world. In May, Le Monde published an article stating that China’s rise in the field of artificial intelligence ” poses a strong challenge ,” and that for the United States , its monopoly is being challenged, reaching a “critical watershed . “

On June 9, Bloomberg published an article affirming China’s efforts to balance artificial intelligence and the job market, stating that China has begun urging employers, especially technology companies, not to arbitrarily lay off employees when introducing artificial intelligence technology . This contrasts sharply with the United States , where using artificial intelligence as an excuse for cost-cutting and layoffs has become commonplace. In January , 70% of Meta’s new code was generated by AI , and by May it had reached nearly 95%. Under these circumstances, Meta laid off 8,000 employees, one-tenth of its total workforce, and canceled 6,000 planned job openings.