Letter to WAIC: 30 entrepreneurs urge Beijing to speed up without breaking

In plain terms

Thirty leaders - Chinese and international - sign, at the opening of the World AI Conference 2026 (Shanghai, July 17), a common letter of expectations on the country's AI policy. Pandaily documents the exercise and cites among the signatories Zhipu AI, JD.com, Sugon and Insilico. In the Chinese context, publishing a collective position of leaders on regulation is a political signal - not just editorial.

Context

WAIC 2026 is framed by Beijing as the window where China showcases its AI stack (Sugon Dawn 8000 #1213, Huawei Atlas 950 #1165, Xiaomi Robotics-U0 #1139, WeRide WITT #1209, Tongyi earbuds). It is also the moment when diplomatic discourse is put in place - the forum of Xi Jinping with Thailand and Cambodia (#1201) makes the international counterpart. The letter from the leaders sheds light on the domestic scene of this same soft power device.

What the letter translates

Without repeating each request - Pandaily summarizes, it would be necessary to read the source text - the nature of the exercise says three things:

1. The private sector (Chinese and international partners) of AI is asking for more predictable rules. The pace of regulation (data security law, generative AI, local proposals) creates uncertainty that slows down industrial investment. The signatories are asking for stability.

2. Commercialization has become the subject. Zhipu at $1B ARR (#1195), the six little tigers that pivot, Sugon in production: the question in 2026 on the Chinese side is no longer "can we train" but "can we sell". Frictions shift towards export control, intellectual property, standardization.

3. The public channel becomes a tool. Publishing a collective letter at WAIC 2026 - with names like Zhipu, JD.com, Sugon, Insilico - is a political choice: speaking to Beijing through the stage rather than through back-channels. A sector that gains enough weight to make itself visible, without crossing the red line of frontal criticism.

Analysis

The contrast is notable with the USA narrative - where AI CEOs regularly write open positions, including critical ones (fil ai-governance-standards, Hassabis #1116). Seeing a similar exercise in Shanghai, on the WAIC stage, marks an inflection: Chinese AI policy becomes a multi-voice game, not just a state game.

The presence of international signatories in the same list (alongside Zhipu, JD.com, Sugon, Insilico) is an additional signal: Beijing tolerates - even nurtures - a mixed composition, which reinforces the soft power reach. This letter complements the external face covered by the Xi-Bangkok-Phnom Penh forum (#1201): on the one hand the export of the tech package; on the other, the political organization of the domestic market. Both belong to the same device.

Scenarios

• Limited effect: the letter is integrated into the official narrative as validation, without changing the policy.
• Catalytic effect: a few specific requests (standards, financing, export) receive a positive signal in the following months - translation into concrete measures.
• Backlash: if the letter is perceived as pressure, tightening of public channels.

So what

For an outside observer: this is a barometer not to be missed. The political maturity of the Chinese AI sector is read in the ability to speak collectively in public - all the more so when the composition goes beyond the sole domestic circle. To follow: the official response post-WAIC, the measures that come out in the 6-12 weeks, and the presence (or not) of similar exercises at the next conferences.