Xi Jinping to Attend Opening of 2026 World AI Conference and Deliver Keynote

The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance will be held in Shanghai from July 17 to 20, and Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech. Xinhua reviewed how AI was written into the 13th Five-Year Plan, listed as one of seven frontier fields in the 14th Five-Year Plan, and covered by the "AI Plus" initiative in the 15th Five-Year Plan. The report also cites Xi's call to advance AI education across all school stages and general AI literacy for society.

This is the highest-level public arrangement for a national AI governance and industry conference. The meeting is not dedicated to education, but the official wording places "AI education across all school stages and general AI literacy for society" alongside basic research, core technology and industrial integration as talent-support paths, which can directly shape expectations for school curricula, teacher capacity building and AI education products. The original text gives only directional language and does not specify curricula, stage divisions, pilot scope or funding, so implementation timing still depends on follow-up documents. AI education across all school stages and general AI literacy are now part of a national talent-support agenda, which may prompt schools and local education authorities to adjust curricula and teacher planning. AI education product providers can read the policy direction, though procurement and market-access rules still depend on later supporting documents.