Despite U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductors, the company had managed to develop a customizable open technology that could compete with some of the most advanced proprietary American AI models,

China’s Premier Li Qiang spoke at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, calling for the establishment of an international institution to guide AI collaboration just days after Washington moved to loosen its industry oversight.

Opening the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday, Li emphasised the need for governance and open-source development, announcing the establishment of a Chinese-led body for international AI cooperation.

Yet while the U.S. appears to focus on powerful yet proprietary large language models, enterprise AI, and semiconductors, China is taking a vastly different approach to cultivating its AI industry.

China's Premier Li Qiang warned Saturday that artificial intelligence development must be weighed against the security risks, saying global consensus was urgently needed even as the tech race between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of abating.

U.S. AI models still control over 70 percent of the market, but a collaborative, open source approach has enabled Chinese labs to punch far above their weight.

Chinese artificial intelligence startup Moonshot AI released a new open-source AI model on Friday, joining a wave of similar releases from local rivals, as it seeks to reclaim its position in the competitive domestic market.