The World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2025 and High-level Meeting on Global AI Governance launched in Shanghai on July 26, marking the event's largest edition since its inception in 2018.
The three-day conference, running through July 28, has attracted participants from more than 30 countries, including 12 Nobel Prize and Turing Award winners and over 80 academicians. Under the theme 'Global Solidarity in the AI Era,' the event spans multiple venues including the Shanghai Expo Center, Expo Pavilion, and Xuhui West Bank.
In his opening address, Chinese Premier Li Qiang proposed establishing a global AI cooperation organization to foster international collaboration. The initiative aims to create a unified governance framework that ensures equitable access to AI technologies, particularly for developing nations. This proposal comes amid intensifying technological competition between China and the United States, with recent U.S. export restrictions on advanced AI chips.
The exhibition showcases unprecedented scale and diversity with more than 3,000 frontier products from 800 companies. Highlights include 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices, and 60 intelligent robots. More than 100 products are making their global or China debut at the conference. Major participants include international firms like Siemens and Schneider Electric alongside Chinese tech giants such as Huawei, Alibaba, and emerging startups in the humanoid robotics sector.
This year's conference introduces several new features, including a dedicated area for venture investment and incubation where over 200 startup projects will connect with more than 100 investment institutions. The event also emphasizes youth engagement through specialized forums and competitions targeting next-generation innovators.
The conference reflects Shanghai's growing prominence as an AI hub. The city has established a multi-layered governance framework and signed agreements with 38 countries to promote global AI industry exchanges. With nearly 300,000 AI professionals—approximately one-third of China's total—Shanghai aims to double its AI industry scale and talent pool in the coming years.