The World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai has become a showcase of China’s ambitions to lead in artificial intelligence despite facing U.S. export restrictions on AI chips. This year’s event features more than 800 participating companies and over 3,000 products, including 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 robots. Chinese tech giants such as Huawei and Alibaba dominate the exhibition, but Western names like Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon have also joined the show.
Premier Li Qiang, who will open the conference, emphasises that AI is a core pillar of China’s economic development plan. Beijing aims to make the country a global leader in AI by 2030, and the WAIC is designed to demonstrate progress toward that goal. Tight U.S. restrictions on the sale of advanced AI chips have forced Chinese firms to innovate domestically. Startups like DeepSeek and giants such as Huawei have responded by developing low‑cost AI systems that rival their U.S. counterparts.
Observers expect WAIC to highlight not just software advances but also the growing ecosystem of AI hardware. Huawei is promoting its Ascend chips and AI computing clusters, while companies are unveiling AI devices and humanoid robots for entertainment and service applications. During a recent visit to Beijing, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised the quality of models from Chinese groups including DeepSeek, Alibaba and Tencent, calling them “world class.”
The conference underscores how quickly China’s AI sector is evolving despite external pressures. With hundreds of companies showcasing cutting‑edge products, WAIC offers a snapshot of how domestic firms are positioning themselves in a global competition dominated by U.S. and European firms. The continued attendance of Western companies indicates the world’s interest in the Chinese market even as geopolitical tensions remain high.