Chinese President and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping traveled to Shanghai in mid-July, where his opening speech at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference marked a departure from previous conferences held since 2018, as Xi himself took the helm on July 17. His address targeted the international community, particularly the United States, China’s chief competitor in AI development. Xi acknowledged foreign origins of AI, noting that “seventy years ago” young scholars proposed the concept at the Dartmouth Workshop in New Hampshire. He also credited Western inventions, including the steam engine, electricity, and the internet. Xi raised questions about coexistence with thinking machines, security in algorithmic decision-making, ethical challenges, and AI for all amid widening divides. He stated that China emphasizes safety and security in AI development, continuously improving laws, regulations, policies, mechanisms, application norms, and ethical principles to ensure AI is “safe, secure and controllable,” and that this “fine steed of AI gallops with both speed and stability.” The article highlights the underlying question of how a one-party state that controls and censors media can manage an unpredictable technology, with “stability” suggested as a key concept.