Chair’s Statement of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance

The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance was held in Shanghai, China from July 17 to 20. President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China attended the opening ceremony of the Conference and delivered the keynote address. The event was attended by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Hun Manet of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul of the Kingdom of Thailand, Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres, and official representatives, business leaders, scholars and researchers from more than 100 countries and international organizations. At this important moment in history of rapid global AI advancement, the Conference was convened under the theme “AI Partnership for a Brighter Future” and discussed pathways to promote global AI development for good and for all.

The Conference noted that AI is completely reconfiguring economic and social development, and will have a profound impact on the progress of human civilization. Both the opportunities and challenges accompanying AI are growing. On the one hand, its deep integration in industries, daily lives and scientific research is boosting economic transformation, technological breakthroughs and efficiency. On the other hand, its continuous iterations are bringing to the fore questions about technology ethics, data security and regulatory frameworks.

The Conference recognized that AI is a new subject in global governance that requires a new paradigm to be developed through international coordination in the spirit of global solidarity. The Conference stressed the need to strike the right balance between development and security, innovation and governance, and national interests and global well-being, and outlined the principles of people-centered approach, AI for good, fairness and inclusiveness, and collaborative governance. The conference called for more robust international cooperation to share ideas and shape solutions on the major issues and pressing challenges facing humanity in the era of AI and giving prominence to international cooperation on AI capacity-building in global AI governance. The conference also called for urgent actions on outstanding issues such as the uneven distribution of resources and unfair distribution of power, with a view to enabling Global South countries to benefit equally from AI development, advancing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and ensuring AI truly benefits all humanity.

1.Innovation is the core driving force behind AI development. We advocate fostering an innovation ecosystem that is enterprise-led, market-driven, application-oriented, research-grounded and talent-based. Humans play a key role in AI development. We must give high priority to fostering AI professionals with digital proficiency, humanistic grounding, innovative thinking and a global perspective.

2.We should advance AI empowerment across industries and in households. AI holds significant empowering potential. We should actively promote an AI+ model to stimulate global innovation, explore new paradigms of scientific research, and create new forms of smart economy. We should develop a new model of token economy built on large language models and led by AI agents. We should leverage AI to transform and upgrade traditional industries, foster and strengthen emerging industries, and plan for industries of the future. We should advance AI application in various fields such as science, education, industry, agriculture, health, transportation, climate, the environment, and government services.

3.Open source and openness are vital pathways to the inclusive AI development. We should encourage in a responsible manner the joint development of open-source ecosystems, actively develop open and inclusive international open-source communities, respect the independent choices of enterprises, promote the sharing of AI-related research outcomes and technical experience on the basis of sound intellectual property protection, and enhance the accessibility of AI technologies and services.

4.Data plays an important role in AI development. We should recognize the highly fluid and empowering nature of data, deepen the development and utilization of data resources, safeguard data security, jointly strengthen the protection of personal information and move faster to create foundational institutions such as data property rights, so as to ensure that data is manageable, controllable and traceable, thereby promoting its secure and orderly flow and efficient development and use.

5. We should promote the development of sustainable AI and boost the deep integration of AI and energy systems. We should better coordinate and match computing power load with electricity supply by deploying large-scale intelligent computing clusters in regions rich in new energy resources. We should monitor AI’s energy and environmental impact, advance its green and low-carbon development, and promote the mutual empowerment of AI and energy development.

6.We should pay attention to the impact of AI technology on social transformation, systemically assess and respond to its impact on employment structure, harness its potential in job creation, actively provide AI education and skilling, energize society-wide innovation and entrepreneurship, and effectively safeguard worker’s rights and dignity to foster a smart society more aligned with human values.

7. We should be mindful of the security risks posed by AI, actively promote the development of laws and regulations, technical monitoring, risk warning and emergency response systems, stay risk-oriented and pursue agile governance, explore tiered and category-based management, secure the bottom line of security, prevent the abuse and malicious use of AI, and ensure that AI always remains under human control.

8. The upgrading of frontier AI technologies has complex implications for the security of and in the use of ICTs, and poses potential threats to critical infrastructure in finance, electricity, telecommunications and transportation. Global leading AI enterprises should advance R&D with prudence, equip large language models with necessary guardrails, ensure the safe deployment of frontier models, and guard against the systemic risks caused by AI.

9. AI agents, as new forms of AI products and services, must operate with clearly defined decision-making authority and behavioral boundaries and mechanisms for behavior tracing and risk alert. It is of special importance to enhance their endogenous security capacity, and address the risks derived from their application.

10. We should jointly prevent and fight against the abuse and malicious use of AI technologies by terrorist and extremist forces, and transnational organized criminal groups, and establish necessary crisis management and emergency response mechanisms on a global scale.

11. We should practice true multilateralism, play the central role of the U.N. in global governance, pay attention to the fragmentation of global AI governance, and support the U.N. Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI in playing their due roles, so as to further consolidate global consensus, share best practices, and ensure equal rights, opportunities and rules for all countries.

12. We should consider formulating international economic and trade rules for AI, promote inclusive cooperation on AI industrial and supply chains, support developing countries’ greater participation in the global division of labor, and ensure fair participation in global competition by enterprises from all countries, and preserve the stability of AI industrial and supply chains.

13. In light of the serious stagnation in progress toward the U.N. SDGs, it is important to persist in implementing the U.N. General Assembly Resolution on Enhancing International Cooperation on Capacity-building of Artificial Intelligence, conduct pragmatic collaboration based on the real needs of developing countries, support countries in unlocking their own potential and unique strengths, and share in the dividends of AI development.

14. We should accelerate the formulation and revision of security, industrial and ethical standards, and establish a framework of standards and norms that is consensus-based, scientific, transparent and inclusive, with due consideration of technological progress, risk prevention and social ethics. We should facilitate mutual recognition of standards among countries, and lower the costs and thresholds of international AI cooperation.

15. We should respect the differences in histories, cultures, social systems and forms of civilization across all countries, and protect the world’s cultural diversity. We should advance the adaptation of AI technologies to diverse cultural scenarios, promote the creative transformation and innovative development of cultures of different countries, and uphold the diversity of world civilizations and the uniqueness of national cultures.

During the Conference, the signing ceremony of the Agreement on the Establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) was held in Shanghai. WAICO will be the world’s first intergovernmental international organization on AI, with its Headquarters located in Shanghai. Upholding the principle of AI for good and for all, WAICO aims to bridge the AI divide by supporting Global South countries in accelerating AI development, strengthening comprehensive capacity in innovation, application and governance, and keeping pace with scientific and technological revolution. WAICO will be guided by a set of fundamental principles: upholding the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, respecting the sovereignty of countries and the diversity of civilizations, adhering to equality, practicing multilateralism, committing to extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, and enabling win-win cooperation. WAICO shall be open to all countries, and maintain communication with other international organizations to explore appropriate forms of cooperation.