China’s Premier Li Qiang warned Saturday that artificial intelligence (AI) 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.

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

HANNA DOHMEN is a Senior Research Analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology and a Nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

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.

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.

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.