Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned at the opening plenary of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2026, commonly known as Summer Davos, that the world risks “losing control” of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence if governments are too slow to regulate them, AFP and the Hong Kong Free Press reported. Speaking in Dalian on June 24, Li called for urgent international cooperation on AI governance and proposed the creation of a new multilateral body to coordinate global AI policy.
The speech was the most direct statement yet from a senior Chinese official on the risks of unregulated AI development, and it carries particular weight given the context: China is simultaneously one of the world’s most aggressive deployers of AI technology and one of the most active proponents of international governance frameworks. Li’s remarks at Summer Davos represent an attempt to position Beijing as a responsible stakeholder in the global AI order, even as the country’s AI companies face accusations of distillation attacks, export control violations, and military technology transfer.
The Case for a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization
The centerpiece of Li’s governance proposal was the creation of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, or WAICO, modeled loosely on existing multilateral bodies in areas like nuclear energy and civil aviation. Li argued that AI’s potential for harm, from autonomous weapons to deepfake disinformation to systemic economic disruption, requires the same kind of coordinated international oversight that governs other dual-use technologies.
The proposal echoes a call made by OpenAI in May 2026 for an IAEA-style global AI governance body that would include China. The convergence of Chinese and American AI companies on the need for multilateral governance, even as their governments remain deeply adversarial on most AI policy questions, reflects the genuine difficulty of managing frontier AI risks through unilateral action alone. Li’s WAICO proposal goes further than OpenAI’s suggestion by calling for a formal intergovernmental organization with binding authority, rather than a voluntary coordination mechanism.
Whether the WAICO proposal gains traction will depend heavily on whether the United States is willing to participate in a China-backed governance initiative. The Trump administration has been skeptical of multilateral institutions in general, and the specific context of US-China AI competition makes cooperation on governance particularly fraught. The US and China agreed in May 2026 to launch government-level AI safety talks, but those talks have produced limited concrete outcomes.
China’s Domestic AI Governance Record
Li’s call for global AI governance comes amid China’s extensive domestic AI regulatory framework. Beijing has implemented rules on generative AI services, algorithmic recommendation systems, deepfake content, and AI-generated news. The Cyberspace Administration of China has been active in reviewing and approving AI products before they can be deployed commercially, creating a regulatory infrastructure that is in some respects more developed than anything currently in place in the United States or Europe.
Critics argue that China’s domestic AI regulations are primarily designed to maintain political control rather than to protect users or prevent broader harm. The rules on generative AI, for example, include requirements that AI-generated content must not undermine state authority or spread “false information,” provisions that serve censorship objectives as much as safety ones. Li’s call for global governance based on Chinese regulatory models would therefore raise significant concerns about the values embedded in any resulting international framework.
Defending China’s Tech Sector on the World Stage
Beyond the governance proposal, Li used his Summer Davos speech to push back against narratives that frame China’s technological advancement as a threat to global stability. He argued that China’s AI development is an opportunity for the world, not a danger, and emphasized the country’s commitment to open cooperation and shared prosperity. The speech was partly directed at the business leaders assembled in Dalian, many of whom are navigating the tension between their commercial interests in China and the political pressure from their home governments to decouple.
Li also addressed the economic context, noting that AI-driven productivity gains are essential for sustaining growth in a global economy facing demographic headwinds and structural challenges. He framed China’s AI investment as a contribution to global economic dynamism rather than a zero-sum competition for technological dominance.
The Significance of the Summer Davos Platform
Summer Davos, organized by the World Economic Forum, is a deliberately internationalist forum that brings together government officials, business leaders, and academics from across the world. Li’s choice to make his most significant AI governance proposal at this venue — rather than at a domestic Chinese forum, signals that the speech is intended for an international audience as much as a domestic one.
The forum runs from June 23 to June 25 and features discussions on technology, economics, and geopolitics. Li’s opening plenary address set the tone for a gathering that is taking place at a moment of unusual tension in the global technology order: export controls are tightening, AI capabilities are advancing faster than governance frameworks can keep pace, and the risk of an uncoordinated AI arms race is increasingly discussed in both academic and policy circles.
Whether Li’s warning about “losing control” of AI resonates beyond Dalian will depend on whether it is accompanied by concrete Chinese policy actions that demonstrate a genuine commitment to responsible AI development, rather than serving primarily as a rhetorical positioning exercise in the ongoing competition for global AI governance influence.