Xi Pitches China-Led Open-Source AI Community to BRICS

Xi Jinping told BRICS leaders in New Delhi that China will pioneer an open-source AI community for the bloc. The remarks went out in a Sunday statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as CNBC reported.

The MFA readout is a cooperation pitch from a summit speech. Saturday's joint declaration did not adopt it.

Xi said China would support work on large language models, hold AI seminars and training courses, and build an open AI ecosystem. He also proposed a BRICS digital ecosystem cloud platform, digital skills training, technological exchange and industrial alignment, a BRICS engineer cultivation alliance, and a youth exchange for scientific and technological innovation. CNBC notes he did not address the AI safety slowdown debate.

TheNextWeb adds that Xi separately invited BRICS members into the World AI Cooperation Organization, a Beijing-founded body launched in July with 29 countries and a Shanghai headquarters. Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Brazil are among them. No EU member state is.

The Saturday joint declaration asked instead for cooperation on AI access while ensuring safety, security, inclusiveness, and reliability. It did not mention the open-source community pitch.

Beijing is still weighing its own openness ceiling. TheNextWeb reports China's commerce ministry spent a month discussing whether to curb overseas access to Qwen, Doubao, and GLM. That debate sits next to Monday's MFA line that China rejects AI slowdown as fear mongering.