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Morning Edition · Friday, July 17, 2026Published at 1:11 AM EDT · New York
Xi Says China Must Take a Leading Role in Artificial Intelligence
The president called for a "positive" use of the technology as Beijing works to shape global standards and reduce its dependence on United States chips.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China must play a leading role in artificial intelligence, framing the technology as a field where Beijing intends to set the terms rather than follow, according to reporting Friday.
The Financial Times reported that Xi called for a positive use of the technology as Beijing seeks to strengthen its influence over the rules and standards that will govern AI globally. The push runs alongside a broader Chinese drive for technological self-sufficiency, illustrated by domestic advances the South China Morning Post highlighted this week, including a reported breakthrough in sodium-ion battery technology by a Chinese scientist.
The context is United States export controls that have restricted China's access to the most advanced chips. Rather than slowing Beijing's ambitions, the restrictions have pushed it to build a parallel technology base in chips, computing hardware and AI systems. Xi's language, emphasizing standards and governance, points to a contest not only over who builds the best models but over whose rules the rest of the world adopts.
The timing is notable. As Western investors reassess the valuations of AI-linked companies, China is signaling that it intends to compete regardless of market sentiment, a divergence that could split the global technology industry into two increasingly separate spheres.
Part of a tracked trend
China Builds a Parallel Technology Stack
United States export controls push China to develop its own chips, computing hardware and artificial-intelligence systems, accelerating a split of global technology into competing spheres that reshapes supply chains and standards.
What this means
China's determination to lead in AI and set standards accelerates the division of global technology into competing United States and Chinese stacks, which reshapes supply chains and forces companies to choose ecosystems. Exposed are chip and equipment suppliers that lose Chinese demand under export controls, and Chinese domestic champions that gain protected market share, through the channel of divergent standards and procurement rules.
What to watch
- Concrete Chinese moves on AI standards or domestic chip capacity, which would show whether the rhetoric translates into a viable parallel stack.
- Any tightening or easing of United States export controls, since that will set how fast the two technology spheres separate.
Observations to monitor, not financial advice.
Synthesized from: Financial Times · South China Morning Post
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