Thousands of tech executives, government officials, and investors are converging on Shanghai for China's premier AI event, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), taking place July 26-28, 2025. The summit arrives at a pivotal moment in the global AI race, with Beijing's ambitions to surpass the United States in artificial intelligence capabilities taking center stage.
While not officially headlining the event, DeepSeek is expected to be a dominant topic of discussion. The Hangzhou-based AI startup stunned the tech world in January when it released its R1 model, which matched the performance of leading Western AI systems at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek's approach demonstrated that high-quality AI could be developed without the massive computational investments traditionally assumed necessary.
"Since its low-cost, high-performance AI model humbled much of Silicon Valley, the industry has watched China closely for another seismic moment," noted one industry observer. DeepSeek's R1 release triggered a $1 trillion market selloff as investors reassessed AI valuations, with Nvidia alone losing $600 billion in a single day.
The company claims to have trained its model for approximately $6 million using just 2,000 Nvidia H800 GPUs, compared to the estimated $80-100 million and 16,000 high-end chips required by Western competitors. This efficiency stems from innovative software optimization techniques rather than superior hardware, allowing DeepSeek to maximize performance from restricted chip supplies.
The Shanghai conference, featuring more than 1,200 guests from over 30 countries, occurs amid renewed competition from the United States. Earlier this week, President Trump unveiled his "AI Action Plan" to maintain American leadership in artificial intelligence, including measures to ease regulations and boost energy supply for AI data centers.
With over 70,000 square meters of exhibition space, the WAIC will showcase more than 3,000 cutting-edge products from 800 companies, including 40+ large language models and numerous AI-powered devices. For the first time, the event will include a dedicated area for venture investment, where over 200 startups will pitch to more than 100 investment institutions, highlighting China's determination to accelerate AI innovation and application across its economy.