China's Xi pitches open-source AI zone for BRICS

China will lead the creation of an open-source artificial intelligence zone for BRICS countries, President Xi Jinping has proposed, placing access to AI technology, large language models and digital skills at the heart of Beijing’s broader push to reshape global technology governance.

Addressing the BRICS summit in New Delhi, Xi unveiled an “open-source and inclusive AI initiative” under which China would pioneer a BRICS AI open-source community, support cooperation in developing and applying large language models, and organise specialised AI seminars and training courses.

The objective is to build an “open ecosystem” in which BRICS members can cooperate on AI development and applications rather than remain dependent on technology controlled by a handful of companies and countries.

China is turning open-weight models into an international technological public good. The expansion of Chinese open-source models such as Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi, and GLM to Global South countries is expected to receive state support.

The proposal comes as AI is rapidly becoming a strategic technology, with access to advanced models, computing infrastructure, data and talent increasingly viewed as an element of economic and geopolitical power.

Chinese AI companies have developed open-source models whose underlying code can be accessed and adapted by users, contrasting with the more closed approach pursued by several leading US developers. Xi's initiative therefore carries significance beyond technology cooperation: it offers the Global South an alternative model for accessing and developing advanced AI.

The initiative also reflects Beijing’s broader argument that the benefits of the AI revolution should not be concentrated in a small group of technologically advanced countries.

President Xi has repeatedly called for AI to be developed for “good” and for the technology divide between developed and developing countries to be narrowed. At the BRICS summit, he also urged members to work towards a broad, consensus-based global AI governance framework.

The proposed open-source zone is part of a much wider package of initiatives designed to deepen practical cooperation among the expanded BRICS grouping.

President Xi also proposed a BRICS special economic zone partnership, a digital ecosystem cloud platform, cooperation on smart manufacturing and an engineer-training alliance. China will host a BRICS Forum on Trade in Services next year, according to the proposal.

Read More: Anthropic CEO urges AI companies to slow model development amid fears over misuse

Taken together, the initiatives suggest that Beijing sees BRICS not simply as a diplomatic grouping but as a platform for building alternative economic, technological and industrial networks.

The bloc has already expanded beyond its original members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — to include Iran, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Ten other countries have partner status, extending the grouping’s reach across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

AI could become one of the most consequential areas of this expanded cooperation.

For developing economies, open-source models potentially lower barriers to entry. Instead of building every component from scratch or relying exclusively on proprietary systems, countries can adapt existing models to their languages, public services, industries and local needs.

That could be particularly important for countries seeking to develop domestic AI capabilities without the enormous costs associated with competing directly with the world's biggest technology companies.

Xi's BRICS proposal also fits into an initiative he announced only months earlier in Shanghai: the creation of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, or WAICO.

At the opening ceremony of the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai on July 17, the Chinese leader announced that WAICO had come into being, describing it as an important step towards international cooperation on AI development and governance. Twenty-nine countries signed the agreement establishing the organisation as founding members.

The Shanghai conference, held under the theme “AI Partnership for a Brighter Future”, brought together more than 1,400 guests and featured more than 140 forums.

WAICO is envisaged as a broad international platform rather than a China-only initiative. According to the organisation’s founding framework, its headquarters will be in Shanghai and it will remain open to all countries, with an emphasis on helping Global South states strengthen their capacity in AI innovation, application and governance.

President Xi announced several concrete measures alongside the organisation. China pledged to provide developing countries with 5,000 opportunities for AI training and seminars over the next five years. Beijing also said it would establish international AI application cooperation centres with ASEAN, the Arab League, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS.

The BRICS open-source initiative and WAICO therefore appear to be components of a larger Chinese strategy: promote AI cooperation while challenging the concentration of technological power in a small number of Western companies and countries.

Xi has framed the issue in terms of fairness, inclusion and multilateralism. At the Shanghai conference, he argued that AI development should not be the “solo performance” of a single country but a product of international cooperation.

With additional input from agencies.