China’s Moonshot AI drops free model at 90% discount, Xi warns US against ‘one country’ AI rule
China’s Moonshot AI has released a free artificial intelligence model that costs just one-tenth the price of rival systems from OpenAI and Anthropic, directly challenging the US tech lead as President Xi Jinping warns that no single nation should dominate AI development [198569][198381][197963].
Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, calling for “openness” in AI development and explicitly opposing “one country” rule—a clear reference to US dominance in the sector [198467][198440]. Xi stressed that AI must not be controlled by any one nation and urged stronger global cooperation on development and regulation [197963]. He offered four key observations on AI governance, focusing on innovation, safety, shared benefits, and global rules [197922].
The push for global openness comes as Beijing accelerates its own AI capacity and challenges US export controls on advanced semiconductors [198467]. China also announced it will provide 5,000 AI training opportunities for developing countries to help build skills in the fast-growing technology field [197919].
Moonshot AI’s new model, called Kimi K2, charges users about one-tenth the price of comparable systems from OpenAI and Anthropic, while performing nearly as well on standard tests [198381]. The Beijing-based startup has raised over $1 billion from investors and is now offering the model for free to developers and businesses through its cloud platform [198569][198381]. Industry analysts say the low-cost model could pressure Western companies to cut prices [198381].
The developments underscore how AI has become a central battleground in the world’s most important economic competition, with both the US and China actively exporting rival models of technology, funding, and regulation to other countries [198446].