WIC Digital Silk Road Forum opens in Xi'an with 800 global attendees
The 2026 World Internet Conference Digital Silk Road Development Forum opened in Xi'an on July 22, 2026, drawing 800 participants from over 50 countries. The event featured speeches from government ministers and international organization leaders, focusing on e-commerce, AI, digital health, and cultural heritage. The forum released the Cultural Heritage Digitalization Case Collection (2026) and hosted capacity-building programs under the WIC Digital & AI Academy.
*this image is generated using AI for illustrative purposes only.
The 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Digital Silk Road Development Forum opened in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, on July 22, 2026. Hosted by the WIC and organized by the Shaanxi Provincial Government, the event gathered approximately 800 participants from more than 50 countries and regions, along with seven international organizations. The forum aimed to strengthen consensus among Belt and Road partner countries on digital and intelligent development opportunities.
Event Overview
The forum was held under the theme "Pooling Intelligence on the Silk Road, Embarking on a Digital Future — Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace." It served as a platform for global stakeholders to discuss collaborative innovation in the digital economy.
Key Attendees
Prominent figures from government, international organizations, and the private sector attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches:
| Name | Role | Organization/Country |
|---|---|---|
| Mayra Arevich MarÃn | Minister of Communications | Cuba |
| Faqir Mahbub Anam | Minister of Posts, Telecommunication & Information Technology; Minister of Science and Technology | Bangladesh |
| Samba Diouf | Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Affairs | Senegal |
| Wang Binying | Deputy Director General | World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) |
| John Higgins | President | International AI Governance Association (IAGA) |
| Wang Xingxing | Founder and CEO | Unitree Robotics |
Thematic Discussions
Following the opening ceremony, a ministerial meeting was held. Thematic forums convened to focus on four key areas:
- Silk Road e-commerce cooperation and development
- Collaborative innovation and development of AI agents
- Digital and intelligent health
- Preservation and transmission of cultural heritage in the digital intelligence era
These discussions sought to help partner countries seize new opportunities brought by digital and intelligent development.
Initiatives and Activities
During the forum, the World Internet Conference Cultural Heritage Digitalization Case Collection (2026) was released. A series of capacity-building activities under the WIC Digital & AI Academy were also conducted, including:
- A capacity building program on AI-driven digital trade
- A salon on "Copyright Empowerment in Cultural Heritage Digitalization"
- A field study at a digital port
What the Numbers Show
The participation of ministers from three distinct countries—Cuba, Bangladesh, and Senegal—alongside heads of major international bodies like WIPO and IAGA, highlights the broad geopolitical scope of the Digital Silk Road initiative. The inclusion of private sector leadership, such as Wang Xingxing from Unitree Robotics, signals a push to integrate commercial technological innovation with state-led diplomatic frameworks.
How might the integration of private sector AI leaders like Unitree Robotics into state-led diplomatic frameworks impact global standards for AI governance and data sovereignty?
What specific regulatory or infrastructure challenges could hinder the implementation of the proposed Silk Road e-commerce cooperation agreements across diverse legal jurisdictions?
In what ways will the 'Digital & AI Academy' capacity-building programs influence the digital literacy and technological adoption rates in participating Belt and Road nations over the next five years?
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