Artificial intelligence: Xi Jinping promotes open and accessible Chinese alternative to challenge the US

Just two years ago, China appeared to be trailing far behind American artificial intelligence, still under the dominance of Silicon Valley. While the gap remains, with the most advanced AI still being developed in California, Beijing has found its own approach: offering good-enough performance at a much lower cost than the United States and allowing its AI products to rapidly gain market share. This model fits perfectly with two of China's core political priorities: presenting itself to the rest of the world as a credible alternative to the West, and holding its own in the technological race that Beijing sees as the key to its ongoing competition with Washington.

Armed with this alternative, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to deliver the message in person on Friday, July 17, at the opening of an AI conference in Shanghai, an event that Chinese authorities have given significant diplomatic weight. "In China, we often say that a single string cannot make music and a single tree does not make a forest. The development of AI should not be a solo performance by one country, but a symphony of international cooperation," Xi said from China's largest city.

You have 83.63% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.