New Delhi, July 17 -- SHANGHAI - Before the opening ceremonies of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference had finished, China had already launched a new international body. On Friday morning, President Xi Jinping stepped to the podium in Shanghai's Xuhui district and announced the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, a multilateral institution he described as essential to preventing the technology from becoming the exclusive province of wealthy nations.

The announcement arrived in a context Beijing has been careful to frame. American export restrictions have blocked Chinese firms from accessing the most advanced semiconductor chips, moves Washington has justified as national security measures....