On July 26, 2025, at the World AI Conference (WAIC), a gathering of tech giants from more than 800 companies and 40 countries, Chinese Premier LiQiang divulged China’s 13-point Global AI Governance Action Plan and international AI cooperation organization based in Shanghai with the goal of equitable and multilateral AI. However, coming just days after the United States unveiled its plan for AI dominance, this raises the question: could this be yet another front in the intense technological rivalry between China and the US? 

East meets West in the AI Arena

The WAIC 2025 conference gathered over 1,200 delegates across 800 companies and 40 countries. Major firms such as Huawei, Alibaba, Tesla, Amazon, and Alphabet all unveiled new AI innovations (CNN). 

On July 23, the US government also unveiled its own AI Action Plan, aiming to minimize regulation to favor the US in the advancing AI race. This plan puts a heavy focus on US dominance in the development of artificial intelligence (White House). However, just days after, Premier Li’s announcement signals a graphic divergence; China advocates for multilateralism and cooperation, even stating that they would be sharing more open-source technology with other countries while the US favors national dominance (State Council of China).

This only deepens the technological rivalry between US and China; China has a core AI industry valued at $84 billion (State Council of China). China is also building a National Integrated Computing Network in hopes of pooling computing resources, has a $8.2 billion AI fund for startups, and tens of billions of dollars from private investments from Chinese technology companies. However, they are still falling behind the US with private investments in the US like OpenAI’s Stargate Project investment of $100-$500 billion (Rand).

The 13-point Global AI Governance Action Plan

China’s 13 points center on a singular statement: “Artificial intelligence is a new frontier of human development and must be developed to serve humanity” (CIW). Li specifically emphasized that China is focusing on artificial intelligence as a “global public good,” advocating for governments to treat its development as a collective responsibility. 

The aim of China’s plan was to foster international collaboration and UN-aligned safety standards within the next year, ensuring AI benefits were equally distributed across borders. Li also mentioned stimulating open-source innovation through reliable platforms with Shanghai proposed as a global AI governance hub. China’s open-source pivot, as mentioned in clause 5, has already gained traction. The Chinese developed DeepSeek model, released for free use, has attracted more than 100 million users, outpacing their US counterparts. Furthermore, Li expressed a commitment to sustainable AI growth, including environmental benchmarks, low-power chip design, and world wide standards to reduce the carbon footprint of large-scale computation. 

The 13-point plan is more than just a governance proposal, as Li emphasized, it’s a warning out of fear that AI will “become an exclusive game for a few countries and companies.” (AGL Info Tech). The entire 13 points can be found here. 

Centered in Shanghai

China proposed forming a standing global AI governance organization headquartered in Shanghai. It would unite governments, industry, academia, and international bodies, with the purpose of coordinating regulation, ethics, and technology sharing. Additionally, Li explained that this was because global AI governance is extremely fragmented due to divergent regulatory approaches, leading to misinformation, bias, and the misuse of artificial intelligence (AGL Info Tech). This decisive decision aimed to create a coordinated governance for artificial intelligence, hoping to unite other countries in development and data-sharing.

Potential Feasibility

This initiative represents a striking contrast to the US-led, market-driven AI approach; China is effectively positioning themselves as the architect of more inclusive AI norms, emphasizing equity, sovereignty, and collective governance in the midst of their vast ideals.

Yet feasibility remains a complex question. Li’s call did not explicitly name the US, however many interpreted it as a direct counter to Trump's push for deregulation in AI, leading to a multitude of questions about whether the US would participate. Furthermore, due to possible regulatory rollback by the US, collaboration may be threatened and other countries may not participate in fear of undermining vital alliances with the US. China is still trailing behind the US on development; some Chinese AI labs also still fall short on safety disclosures and governance standards as seen in the West.

Diplomatically, the road ahead for China will require extremely careful coalition-building to win over states such as India, Brazil, and EU states. These middle powers will be critical to legitimize the plan and avoid the perception of a China-centric initiative. Furthermore, China will also need to demonstrate that it can act on its pledges of open-source and sustainability, and that it is not just political rhetoric. Whether China’s Shanghai Summit depicts a new cooperative era for AI is still unknown; however, we can be sure that with China’s 13 point plan, the debate over who decides the future of AI is still ongoing.