BEIJING, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday held a series of high-level meetings on the sidelines of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai, sitting down successively with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The bustling diplomatic activity transformed the WAIC from a premier showcase of AI technologies and industrial breakthroughs into a vibrant platform for head-of-state diplomacy and global governance coordination.

Analysts said hosting intensive head-of-state diplomatic events in Shanghai, a core hub of reform, opening-up and technological innovation, carries profound meaning. In addition, Friday’s high-level meetings embody the innovative model of “technology builds the stage while diplomacy takes the leading role.” It not only deepens China’s bilateral relations with ASEAN members, but also helps advance inclusive global AI governance centered on the UN mechanism.

Strategic guidance

According to the two separate official releases by Xinhua, during his meetings with the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia, President Xi spoke of the long-standing friendship China shares with both nations. He called on China and Thailand, as well as China and Cambodia, to join hands to advance the development of their respective communities with a shared future.

Furthermore, the Chinese leader stressed the need for China to expand pragmatic cooperation with Thailand and Cambodia respectively across traditional and emerging sectors, and work with each country to jointly crack down on cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, according to Xinhua.

He called for the proper handling of border frictions between Thailand and Cambodia and called on the two sides to resolve disputes through dialogue and consultation, with China standing ready to continue playing a constructive role in this regard, per Xinhua.

During their respective meetings with the Chinese leader, the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia both expressed willingness to deepen multi-field cooperation with China and spoke highly of China’s positive efforts to facilitate the peaceful settlement of the Thailand-Cambodia border conflicts.

Xu Liping, Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that head-of-state diplomacy has charted the fundamental course for the advancement of China’s ties with both Cambodia and Thailand.

WAIC exemplifies the innovative model of “technology builds the platform, while diplomacy takes the leading role,” said Xu, “In addition, AI cooperation is also expected to serve as a vital entry point to further deepen and substantiate China’s ties with Thailand and Cambodia going forward.”

Furthermore, addressing the sensitive and thorny Thailand-Cambodia border dispute amid the relatively relaxed atmosphere of a tech summit enables all relevant parties to handle differences in a rational and pragmatic manner, which embodies Eastern wisdom and an Asian approach to resolving issues, said Xu.

The year 2026 marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, witnessing the official rollout of the new Plan of Action on the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2026-2030). It also kicks off the implementation of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan.

The critical juncture offers a perfect window to align China’s development plans closely with the national development strategies of Global South countries and ASEAN members, said Xu. “Thailand and Cambodia’s willingness to ramp up cooperation with China mirrors the aspiration of the majority of ASEAN members to leverage China’s development dividends and pursue win-win outcomes and common prosperity in the region.”

Firm support for UN

In his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday, Xi reiterated China’s firm support for the UN.

Noting that this year marks the 55th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China at the UN, the Chinese leader said China has since been committed to building world peace, contributing to global development, defending international order, and firmly supporting the UN, Xinhua reported.

Xi added that he proposed the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and the four global initiatives with one important consideration in mind – to uphold the status and authority of the UN.

Currently, the international landscape is marked by more pronounced changes and turbulence, making it all the more necessary to practice true multilateralism and reinvigorate the status and role of the UN, he said.

Guterres commended China for its steadfast support for multilateralism, the cause of the UN, and international cooperation, saying that China has set an example for the world.

Guterres said the UN will continue to strengthen cooperation with China, oppose unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemonic bullying, safeguard the UN Charter and international law, as well as advance the process toward a multipolar world.

At this pivotal juncture where talks on AI development and UN multilateral governance converge, China, leveraging head-of-state diplomacy as a top-tier platform, has elaborated in a systematic manner its vision for global governance in the AI era, Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

He added that China’s emphasis on the UN-centered global governance architecture will further strengthen the UN’s authority and operational capacity.

Before the official opening of the WAIC, on Thursday, representatives from 29 countries, including Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia, signed an agreement on establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) in Shanghai. UN chief Guterres was among representatives from countries and international organizations present at the signing ceremony.

According to the agreement, WAICO will be an independent intergovernmental international organization, which aims to promote international cooperation and global governance on AI, ensuring that AI is beneficial, safe and fair, thereby promoting its healthy and orderly development to benefit all humanity.

President Xi on Friday also announced that in the next five years, China will provide developing countries with 5,000 opportunities in AI training and seminar programs. China will also develop international AI application cooperation centers with the ASEAN, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS.

However, some international media, including Reuters and Nikkei, used the term “AI diplomacy” describing the grand gathering in Shanghai, claiming that Beijing seeks a new global AI order, challenging US dominance.

In rebuttal, Wang pointed out that China advocates open, inclusive technology that lets AI benefit all humanity under the vision of “AI for All”. In contrast, the US adheres to a mindset of “All for AI”, weaponizing AI for geopolitical rivalry and aiming to outpace China in technological competition. Driven by the “America First” doctrine and capital-centric priorities, Washington’s approach forms a sharp contrast with China’s.

Meanwhile, China’s resolute commitment to upholding the UN system underscores that for China and a wide array of Global South countries, the sensible path lies in reforming and improving the existing global governance architecture rather than discarding it to build parallel institutions from scratch, the expert added.

This article first appeared on Global Times

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SOURCE Global Times

BEIJING, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — “AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday while addressing the opening ceremony of the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, stressing that China is ready to be more open, take more practical actions, and assume a more visionary perspective.

We are ready to work with all parties to seize the opportunities of AI development and meet the challenges, and join hands to create a brighter future for humanity, he added.

Xi’s remarks received positive responses from domestic and foreign enterprises and experts, as they spoke highly of China’s scientific and technological achievements in recent years while noting that China’s commitment to openness and cooperation can help ensure that the benefits of AI are shared by all humanity and Chinese solutions in AI governance enable other countries to better tackle the common challenges brought about by AI development.

Openness and win-win cooperation

Xi presented four observations on AI development and governance in the speech. The Chinese leader called for adhering to the principle of openness and win-win cooperation while boosting innovation-driven development. He highlighted the importance of encouraging open-source, openness, collaboration and sharing to facilitate technological innovation, industrial development and scenario-based application of AI.

He also called for strengthening risk-awareness and ensuring that AI is secure and controllable.  Stressing the need 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.

Third, he called for encouraging inclusiveness and promoting mutual learning among civilizations.

Fourth, he called for advocating solidarity and improving global governance. The important role of the United Nations should be recognized, Xi said, calling for further alignment and coordination on AI development strategies, governance rules and technical standards.

“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,” he said.

In the next five years, China will provide developing countries with 5,000 opportunities in AI training and seminar programs, Xi said. He said China will develop international AI application cooperation centers with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS. China will enable 30 countries to use the AI-powered meteorological warning system, or MAZU, to safeguard homes around the world.

“President Xi’s remarks underscore China’s commitment to advancing global AI governance and technological innovation through opening-up and win-win cooperation, bringing new opportunities for sharing AI dividends and achieving shared prosperity to countries worldwide, especially developing countries,” Song Yang, professor of School of Economics and research fellow at the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Friday.

China is sending a clear and important message: AI should become a bridge between countries, not a new dividing line, Luigi Gambardella, president of the Brussels-based international digital association ChinaEU, told the Global Times on Friday on the sidelines of the forum.

“No country, however technologically advanced, can develop and govern AI alone. China’s commitment to openness and cooperation can help ensure that the benefits of AI are shared by all humanity. It can help prevent the fragmentation of technologies, standards and markets, while ensuring that the opportunities created by AI are shared more widely,” Gambardella said.

“President Xi proposed ‘adhering to the principle of openness and win-win cooperation’ and ‘advocating solidarity’, and announced a series of pragmatic measures to support global AI development. These remarks have deeply inspired me and further strengthened my confidence in promoting the inclusive development of AI through opening-up and cooperation,” Xu Li, chairman and CEO of Shanghai-based AI software company SenseTime, told the Global Times on Friday.

Looking ahead, SenseTime aims to bring more field-tested technologies, products, and talent cultivation expertise to more countries and regions, and boost “China innovation” to deliver sustained value across a wider spectrum of industrial scenarios, thereby enabling AI to better benefit all of humanity, Xu said.

China actively supports strengthening global cooperation on AI governance, advocates multilateralism, and promotes the establishment of a global governance framework, which has received positive responses from many Global South countries.

Twenty-nine countries on Thursday signed an agreement in Shanghai on establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). As an independent intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Shanghai, WAICO will uphold the purposes of the UN Charter, be committed to extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit and adhere to a people-centered approach, according to the agreement, per Xinhua.

Global spotlight on WAIC

Since its inception in 2018, the WAIC has successfully convened for eight consecutive editions, becoming an important window for showcasing cutting-edge AI technologies from China and around the world while deepening international opening-up and cooperation.

Themed “AI Partnership for a Brighter Future”, the exhibition area exceeds 100,000 square meters for the first time this year, attracting the participation of over 1,100 enterprises. The exhibitors are showcasing more than 3,000 products and technologies, with over 300 products making their global debuts.

Among the exhibition highlights are Huawei’s latest AI computing super node system Atlas 950, MiniMax M3 multimodal foundation model, and the world’s first agentic AI phone, alongside a range of humanoid robots and AI-powered dexterous hands.

A German BMW representative, who attended WAIC for the first time, expressed enthusiasm about the event, highlighting the humanoid robotics showcased in the exhibition area – technologies he said he has never encountered before.

The representative told the Global Times that his company has adopted Chinese AI-powered large language models such as Qwen and DeepSeek. “The new updated versions of these models emerge weekly, which is very impressive,” the representative said, speaking highly of the cost efficiency of Chinese models.

However, some Western media outlets keep smearing China’s AI advancements and international cooperation. The Economist even claims that China’s open-source AI is a “trap” and that embracing China is “risky.”

Debunking this groundless smearing, Song said that China’s AI development has consistently adhered to the philosophy of a people-centered approach and AI for good, accumulating a wealth of vivid, replicable, and scalable experiences.

At the opening ceremony of the WAIC, the China Meteorological Administration unveiled the MAZU-FengYun Satellite AI Box. The launch marks a new stage in MAZU’s intelligent early-warning initiative, which was unveiled last year, shifting from providing shared meteorological products to delivering AI-enabled forecasting capabilities, according to the administration.

“Over the past year, meteorological and disaster reduction agencies from more than 40 countries have accessed the MAZU early warning technologies and products via cloud platforms. Customized versions of the tool have been deployed in Nigeria, Djibouti, Pakistan, and other nations, earning widespread recognition from users,” You Yang, a staff member with the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, told the Global Times on Friday.

“From base models to industry-specific applications, China is opening up its low-cost, replicable technological pathways to the world, thereby lowering the threshold for underdeveloped nations to enter the AI era. Meanwhile, China actively helps developing countries address gaps in technology, talent, and governance capabilities to bridge the digital divide in the age of intelligence,” Song said.

According to a March report from Hugging Face, one of the world’s largest AI open-source communities, China has surpassed the US in monthly downloads and overall downloads. In the past year, Chinese models quickly accounted for the plurality or 41 percent of downloads.

“China possesses three unique institutional advantages in promoting AI for good and inclusive development: First, the new system for nationwide mobilization of resources coordinates development and security, achieving synergistic progress in key technological breakthroughs and rule-making. Second, a people-centered approach ensures that technological advancement benefits the people. Third, a multi-stakeholder agile and collaborative governance model links governments, universities, research institutions, enterprises, and social organizations to explore the synergy between rules and technology, providing China’s experience to the world,” Zeng Yi, a member of the UN Advisory Body on AI, told the Global Times on Friday.

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SOURCE Global Times

BOGOTA, Colombia, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) (the “Company”) announced that it has identified an unauthorized access to certain digital resources owned by the Company and its subsidiaries by an external actor who has not been identified, as well as an attempted ransomware attack that was blocked by the cybersecurity controls implemented across the Company and its subsidiaries. The unauthorized access affected cloud-based file storage environments of approximately 15 subsidiaries (including the Company), resulting in the unauthorized download of data associated with approximately 3,300 user accounts. The external actor communicated extortion demands, threatening to publicly disclose the information that had been unlawfully extracted.

In response to this incident, the Company initiated an investigation and activated its incident response and management protocols. In addition, the Company deployed the following measures aimed at preventing the public disclosure of the unlawfully extracted information, addressing supervisory actions and/or potential financial costs associated with investigation, remediation, and regulatory compliance, as follows:

a. Immediate revocation of unauthorized access to the compromised digital assets.
b. Blocking of mechanisms associated with the mass download of information.
c. Identification, analysis, and containment of the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by the malicious actor.
d. Filing of a criminal complaint before the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia and deployment of cooperation activities with specialized national authorities.
e. Identification of external infrastructures used for the storage or download of information to pursue restriction or blocking actions.
f. Activation of support mechanisms with insurers and specialized capital markets teams to ensure the proper management of the event.
g. Detailed assessment of the downloaded information and determination of its criticality.
h. Enhanced monitoring of the technology infrastructure under critical alert protocols and continuous validation of preventive and detective controls.

As of the date of this report, the Company has not identified any material disruption to its critical operations, production capacity, or essential services; any direct financial impact that would prevent it from continuing to conduct its business activities; or any disclosure of the information subject to the unauthorized access. However, the Company continues to assess the potential exposure of corporate information, which could include confidential, restricted, proprietary, or personal data, as it cannot guarantee that this incident will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, reputation, operating results, or financial condition.

Ecopetrol S.A. will continue to monitor developments related to this matter and, should any material facts or information requiring disclosure to the market be identified, will promptly disclose such information in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 19,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA’s shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla – Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector. 

This release contains statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases, or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company’s prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company’s business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration, and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company’s competitiveness and the performance of Colombia’s economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For more information, please contact:

Investor Relations Office
Email: investors@ecopetrol.com.co  

Head of Corporate Communications (Colombia) 
Marcela Ulloa 
Email: marcela.ulloa@ecopetrol.com.co 

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SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.