China Will Engage With India's AI summit, With Caution and a Message on Tech
Beijing is sending a vice minister to the summit. It will bat for fair and equitable access and open-source models, observe, and stay low-key.
The decision has now been finalized. A few days ago, the Chinese government confirmed it will send an official “Track 1” delegation to India to participant in the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 16-20. At the same time, Beijing is also preparing a “Track 2” delegation made up of Chinese think tanks and universities focused on AI policy.
The Track 1 delegation will be led by Vice Minister Chen Jiachang of the Ministry of Science and Tech (MOST). Chen, who speaks English, has overseen MOST’s international cooperation portfolio for several years and served as a commercial diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in Italy in his early career.
Multiple contacts familiar with the planning shared that Beijing’s goal for both delegations is clear: members are to observe, learn, and avoid dominating the conversation. “China doesn’t want its people (members of the delegations) to steal the spotlight from India,” one well-placed Chinese source shared.
China’s participation in the global AI summit has never been straightforward. The Biden administration initially urged then UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak not to invite China to the inaugural event, but Sunak pushed back and proceeded to do so. China has since delegations typically led by a vice minister rank official to participate — an approach Beijing will repeat for the 2026 summit in India.
Sources involved in China’s planning also shared that Beijing’s messaging will stay aligned with Premier Li Qiang’s remark’s at last July’s World AI Conference (WACI) in Shanghai, where he framed AI as a “public good” and voiced support for open source models that China argues can benefit a broader range of countries, not just “Big Powers” like the United States. This framing — highlighting fair and equitable access to AI technologies — resonates across the Global South and among “Belt and Road” countries, where concerns are mounting that AI could deepen global inequality. China is keen to position itself as a champion of developing countries on many social and economic issues, including AI.
Chen is expected to reiterate Li’s position on AI governance while avoiding any confrontation with India on AI related policy issues — especially as bilateral ties have recently began to improve. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tianjin for the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit last August marked his first trip to China in seven years and signaled a notable shift in bilateral relations following the 2020 border standoff. It is also understood that the Indian Embassy in Beijing already reached out to the Chinese government, especially MOST, to initiate the visa process for Chinese participants.
For Track 2, China will send the China AI Safety & Development Association (CnAISDA), a specialized institute focused on AI risk, governance, and international cooperation. The association includes roughly a dozen member originations including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, and Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory — all with ties to the Chinese government.
In previous AI summits held in France (2025), South Korea (2024), and the United Kingdom (2023), China’s Track 2 delegations featured “star scholars and diplomats” like Professor Xue Lan and Ambassador Fu Ying of Tsinghua University. Xue led the CnAISDA delegation at last year’s Paris summit and also served as an AI policy advisor to Chinese Premier Li.
Fu, formerly China’s vice foreign minister and ambassador to Britain, has remained active in academia and public diplomacy and is affiliated with Tsinghua University, where she works on AI governance issues alongside Professor Xue and other colleagues. She also attended the Paris summit last year.
However, this year neither Xue nor Fu will attend the India summit, the timing of which several Chinese delegates described as “tricky.” The India AI summit dates coincide with China’s Lunar New Year “Golden Week,” which starts on February 17 — a period most Chinese prefer to spend with family, akin to Christmas or Thanksgiving in Western countries.
“Maybe the Indians set the dates on purpose, as they may not want China to send too many experts to India for the AI summit this year,” one incoming Track 2 delegate shared with a smile. “But relax, we don’t want to steal the show. We respect India as the host this year.”
(Earlier today I also spoke with CNBC to confirm Beijing’s decision to send a vice minister-level official to lead a delegation to attend the coming AI summit in New Delhi. You can read the CNBC story here: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/03/china-india-ai-summit-improving-relations-with-new-delhi.html)