China releases AI action plan days after the U.S. as global tech race heats up

SHANGHAI — The tech race between the world’s two largest economies just intensified.

China on Saturday released a global action plan for artificial intelligence, calling for international cooperation on tech development and regulation.

The news came as the annual state-organized World Artificial Intelligence Conference kicked off in Shanghai with an opening speech by Premier Li Qiang, who announced that the Chinese government has proposed the establishment of a global AI cooperation organization, according to an official readout.

Days earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an American action plan for AI that included calls to reduce alleged “woke” bias in AI models and support the deployment of U.S. tech overseas.

“The two camps are now being formed,” said George Chen, partner at the Asia Group and co-chair of the digital practice.

“China clearly wants to stick to the multilateral approach while the U.S. wants to build its own camp, very much targeting the rise of China in the field of AI,” Chen said.

He noted how China may attract participants from its Belt and Road Initiative, while the U.S. will likely have the support of its allies, such as Japan and Australia.

In his speech, Premier Li emphasized China’s “AI plus” plan for integrating the tech across industries and said the country was willing to help other nations with the technology, especially in the Global South. The category loosely refers to less developed economies, especially countries outside the U.S. and European orbits.

Since 2022, the U.S. has sought to restrict China’s access to advanced semiconductors for training AI models. Earlier this month, U.S. chipmaker Nvidia said the U.S. was allowing it to resume shipments of a less advanced H20 chip to China after a roughly three-month pause.

However, China has been developing homegrown alternatives, which Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang both praised and described as “formidable” during his third trip to China this month.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt met with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining on Thursday in the city ahead of the AI conference, according to a city announcement. Schmidt did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.