07-24-2026 
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Chinese President Xi Jinping has laid out his ambition for Beijing to lead a global artificial intelligence (AI) coalition of developing countries, to challenge the United States dominance of the space. The comments come as leading private-sector players warn that the ongoing global AI memory chip shortage is set to continue or worsen as demand rises.
- China’s Xi pushes AI alliance to rival U.S.
- AI chip crunch fuels tech race
- U.S. presses ahead in AI dominance
In a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), which took place in Shanghai last week, Xi reportedly urged countries to seize the “historic opportunity” of open-source AI, while committing to helping developing nations build AI capabilities, per a July 17 Reuters report.
Xi went on to warn against the emergence of “new historical injustices” from unequal access to the technology, with the U.S. currently the dominant force in AI.
According to the Stanford University “Global and National AI Vibrancy Rankings,” published in November 2025, the U.S. outpaces other nations in almost every key area of AI development. In 2023, it attracted $67.2 billion in private AI investments, compared to second-place China’s $7.8 billion. It produced 61 notable machine learning models, far ahead of China’s 15, and while private AI investment in China and the European Union declined by 44.2% and 14.1%, respectively, since 2022, the U.S. experienced a notable 22.1% increase during the same period.
On Friday, Xi made it clear that China wants to redress this imbalance and take a more leading role in shaping global AI governance, reportedly comparing the significance of AI technology to the invention of the steam engine and electricity.
“We must carry out extensive international cooperation and help Global South countries with capacity building to bridge the AI and digital divides, promote sustainable development and prevent creating new historical injustice in AI,” Xi said.
Specifically, the Chinese president presented four observations on AI development and governance: first, adhering to the principle of openness and “win-win cooperation,” while boosting innovation-driven development. Second, strengthening risk awareness and ensuring that AI is secure and controllable. Third, encouraging inclusiveness and promoting mutual learning among nations, and fourth, advocating solidarity and improving global governance.
According to a July 20 press release from the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s official national political advisory body, Xi also stressed the need for security and to ensure that AI is always under human control.
“Xi urged all sides to jointly oppose overstretching the national security concept in the field of AI or placing one country’s security over that of others,” the CPPCC said. “AI development and its application should not erode or undermine the diversity of world civilizations or the uniqueness of cultures of different countries.”
The leader also emphasized the important role the United Nations plays, calling for further alignment and coordination on AI development strategies, governance rules, and technical standards. His WAICO proposals were especially targeted at developing nations, as Xi offered them increased access to Chinese AI capabilities and governance frameworks, in the hopes of forming a coalition to rival the U.S. AI supremacy.
This has been a major goal of China’s for some time, as its national AI plan, laid out in 2017, set the ambitious goal of achieving global leadership in AI by 2030. Based on the tenor of his Shanghai address, Xi may have hinted that Beijing is concerned about reaching this goal, with the U.S. continuing to stretch ahead in the race.
Chip shortage
China’s pitch to become the champion of a new AI order to rival the U.S. comes as major private-sector firms warn the global microchip shortage is headed toward its worst point yet.
On July 15, Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, a multinational manufacturing and services conglomerate headquartered in Seoul—the second largest conglomerate by revenue in South Korea after Samsung Group—told a press briefing of the 49th Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Jeju Forum that the global shortage of AI memory chips is severe enough that foreign governments have started intervening on behalf of their own industries, something Xi’s WAICO speech appears to confirm.
Chey, who is also chair of the KCCI, told the event that the rapidly evolving AI sector is overwhelming semiconductor manufacturers, saying that “even if we limit it to the AI sector, next year’s demand will increase by at least 60 to 100% compared to this year, and looking at the entire memory market, it will increase by more than 50 to 60%,” as reported by local outlet Business Korea on Monday.With demand surging, supply is struggling to keep pace, with Chey suggesting that “no company has meaningful new capacity coming online next year.”
He went on to argue that SK Hynix, a semiconductor company and subsidiary of SK Group, needed to speed up its expansion at home and abroad to meet this demand, whilst describing current memory prices as “abnormal” and warning that sustained high prices would invite new competitors and geopolitical retaliation.
“There is a high probability that not only myself but also our government will begin to receive lobbying and pressure from other national governments asking for semiconductors,” Chey said.
While not directly pointing the finger at the U.S., the huge demand emanating from the world’s biggest importer and user of semiconductors makes it the most obvious national government in question. But as Xi made clear, there are significant international efforts underway to rival the U.S. in AI development, and any rival seeking to catch up will need more than its fair share of chips.
US semiconductor push
Catching the U.S. will be no easy task, as the country, far out in front of the AI race, shows no signs of slacking off.
In July 2022, U.S. Congress passed the “CHIPS and Science Act” to provide semiconductor manufacturing grants and investment tax credits, alongside chip R&D investments.
Amongst various measures, the act appropriates $52.7 billion to increase semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the U.S. by providing financial incentives to build, expand, and equip domestic fabrication facilities and companies in the semiconductor supply chain.
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), these incentives sparked over half a trillion dollars in announced private sector investments in the U.S. chip ecosystem across the entire supply chain, including logic, memory, analog, advanced packaging, mature-node, leading-edge, materials, and equipment.
As a result, SIA said the U.S. is expected to triple its semiconductor manufacturing capacity (203%) from 2022 to 2032, “the highest growth rate in the world.”
Most recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) announced last Thursday an incremental $100 billion investment by Taiwan Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TSM) for advanced semiconductor manufacturing and packaging facilities in Arizona.
The additional facilities bring TSMC’s total investment in the U.S. to $265 billion, which the DoC said will result in 12 facilities in the country.
However, mirroring the concerns for Seoul expressed by SK Group’s Chey in his recent speech, as well as Xi’s comments on forming a developing-nation AI-unified front, the SIA warned that the U.S. “trajectory is at risk” as global competitors “implement policies to attract chip companies.”
While the progress of this AI race may be uncertain, one thing seems clearer than ever: the high demand for semiconductors will continue to far outstrip supply for the foreseeable future.
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