China’s Xi urges AI cooperation, rejects ‘Cold War mentality’ at SCO summit

TIANJIN, China — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to strengthen artificial intelligence cooperation, while rejecting what he called a “Cold War mentality.”

Xi was speaking at the largest-ever summit of the SCO to date, with more than 20 foreign leaders gathered in Tianjin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The meeting comes as China seeks to cast itself as a global peacemaker, against a backdrop of persistent trade tensions with the United States, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Xi said China has invested $84 billion in other SCO countries and pledged support for 10,000 students to join Beijing’s “Luban” vocational education program. He added that the SCO gathering presents an opportunity to chart a new phase of high-quality development and cooperation.

Ahead of his remarks, Xi briefly gathered with Modi and Putin during a photo session with all SCO members.

Xi is expected to meet with Putin this week, with the Russian leader scheduled to stay in China for a military parade in Beijing to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II.

Over the weekend, Xi met with at least 10 visiting leaders, including Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet. On Saturday, he met Modi, with both sides affirming the importance of being partners, not rivals, according to official readouts.

“A stable relationship and cooperation between India and China and their 2.8 billion peoples on the basis of mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity are necessary for the growth and development of the two countries,” India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement following the meeting.

While it remains unclear if the SCO summit will pave the way for any breakthroughs in easing tensions, analysts said that China’s détente with India could help strengthen Beijing’s influence.

“The improvement of relations with India is a big deal. It allows India to access highly critical intellectual property that it needs if it is to industrialize and boost manufacturing,” Marko Papic, chief strategist, GeoMacro Strategy BCA Access, said in an email.

“But, over the long term, the U.S. is losing the propaganda battle to paint China as the trouble-maker-in-chief. And that only further ossifies multipolarity,” he said.

China has taken some “initiative” for economic collaboration as well as peace, said Henry Huiyao Wang, founder and president of the Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization. He also pointed to efforts by China and India to rebuild ties and said he hoped India and Pakistan would do the same.

“[U.S.] President Trump is trying to make a lot of peace, but I think with the help of China, we could do the same too,” Wang said Monday on CNBC’s “The China Connection.”

“China could take advantage of its good relations with Russia to help [broker] the deal for the Russian war in Ukraine,” Wang said, adding that the SCO, or members like China and India, could act as a guarantor for security.

The SCO summit could lead to China building better relations with a slew of countries, Papic said.

The summit is expected to release a joint statement at the conclusion of the two-day meeting Monday. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi is scheduled to hold a press conference Monday evening local time.

— CNBC’s Victoria Yeo contributed to this report