We’re excited to share that Concordia AI will be hosting a dedicated AI Safety and Governance Forum at the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 27, which will be livestreamed globally (full agenda and link below).
What is WAIC?
WAIC is China’s largest and most influential AI conference, held annually since 2018. It brings together senior Chinese government leaders, foreign diplomats, and renowned experts from across the globe.
WAIC is co-organized by seven central government ministries (MOFA, NDRC, MIIT, MoE, MoST, SASAC, and CAC), along with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), and the Shanghai Municipal Government.
In 2024, WAIC was for the first time called a “High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance”, and saw an unprecedented caliber of senior officials in attendance, most notably Premier LI Qiang (李强). Last year’s edition also increased its focus on AI safety and governance.
This year’s WAIC, held under the theme “Global Solidarity in the AI Era”, is expected to break participation records and to maintain its high political profile.
For foreign stakeholders, WAIC is a key event to watch, and a critical opportunity to engage with Chinese counterparts.
What to watch at WAIC
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony typically draws the highest level of attention, featuring senior Chinese officials, foreign dignitaries, leaders of international organizations, and CEOs of major AI companies.
At WAIC 2024, for instance, Premier Li Qiang, China’s second-highest ranking official, delivered opening remarks emphasizing that AI development must ensure safety, reliability, and controllability. Shanghai Party Secretary CHEN Jining (陈吉宁), one of China’s top 24 officials, also announced the “Shanghai Declaration on Global AI Governance,” which warns of “unprecedented challenges” in AI safety and ethics. That same phrase—“unprecedented risks”—was later echoed by President Xi Jinping during a Politburo study session in April 2025, underscoring how WAIC can foreshadow domestic policy trends.
The opening ceremony also features speeches from leading scientists and policy advisors. In 2024, Tsinghua University Institute for AI International Governance (I-AIIG) Dean XUE Lan (薛澜) noted risks of loss of control of AI systems and threats to national security from AI misuse, while Shanghai AI Lab (SHLAB) Director ZHOU Bowen (周伯文) argued that AI safety must be advanced alongside capabilities through alignment, explainability, and reflection in order to achieve trustworthy artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Ministerial roundtable
In 2024, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) held a ministerial roundtable with representatives from around 30 other countries. MOST Minister YIN Hejun (阴和俊) noted that AI is an issue “of great importance for the fate of humanity,” while Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs MA Zhaoxu (马朝旭) highlighted the importance of preserving “safety bottom lines” and maintaining human control over AI systems. A similar gathering may occur again this year, even though it remains unconfirmed as of writing.
Join us: Concordia AI’s AI Safety and Governance Forum
WAIC typically features more than 100 thematic “forums,” which often run half-day or day-long. It is impossible to give a full overview here, and we recommend readers check out the full agenda on the official conference website to get a sense of the range of cutting-edge topics covered. There are multiple forums related to AI safety and governance this year.
We are excited to announce that Concordia AI is hosting the AI Safety and Governance Forum. Last year, our forum drew almost 300 in-person attendees and over 800,000 livestream views. This year, we’re proud to present another outstanding lineup of leading scientists, policy experts, and industry voices from China and around the world, coming together to discuss frontier AI safety and global governance.
📅 Date: July 27
🕘 Time: 09:00–17:30 (UTC+8)
📍 Venue: Shanghai World Expo Center, Meeting Room 518
💻 Livestream: Morning session (09:00–12:30 UTC+8); afternoon session (13:35–17:30 UTC+8)
The Forum will be structured around four themes:
- Theme 1: The Science of AI Safety: Leading researchers will share insights on the problem “superalignment” and potential pathways to aligned AGI.
- Theme 2: Emerging Challenges in AI Safety: This session examines cutting-edge problems in AI safety, including dual-use challenges in cybersecurity and biosecurity, and early warning signs of deceptive or self-replicating AI systems.
- Theme 3: AI Risk Management in Practice: A comparative look at influential governance approaches across China, the EU, and the US, identifying shared concerns and promising practices for managing AI risk.
- Theme 4: International Governance of AI Safety: The final session explores the evolving landscape of international cooperation on AI safety and potential next steps for global governance.
