July 18 – Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining met with Richard S. Sutton, the Turing Award winner and chief scientist of Openmind Research Institute, and his delegation, who were in Shanghai for the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance.

Chen welcomed Sutton to capitalize on the historic opportunity provided by the AI revolution by aligning his research strengths more closely with Shanghai's advantages in innovation, talent, and the AI ecosystem. He also called for deepening exchanges and fostering open collaboration in fundamental research, talent development, and training, so that AI — as a frontier technology — can better serve humanity.

Sutton reaffirmed his commitment to "understanding intelligence and sharing it with the world", vowing to deepen academic exchanges, promote mutual learning, strengthen international cooperation, and jointly explore new approaches to AI education and ways to advance fundamental research.

July 16 – Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng met with Alexander De Croo, under-secretary-general of the United Nations and administrator of the United Nations Development Program, in Shanghai.

Gong said that the Shanghai Global Center for Sustainable Development is an important platform for implementing the Global Development Initiative and supporting the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He expressed hope that Shanghai and the UNDP would work together to put the center into operation as soon as possible.

He expected that the UNDP would support Shanghai's efforts to refine global AI governance and build a resilient and safe city, thus helping it contribute to global sustainable development.

De Croo said he looked forward to Shanghai and the UNDP further strengthening their longstanding partnership, deepening practical cooperation, advancing global sustainable development, and fostering shared prosperity for all.

July 17 – Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng met with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Shanghai.

Gong said that Shanghai has established friendship-city relationships with Chiang Mai Province and Bangkok, and that the two sides have achieved positive outcomes through practical cooperation.

He called for deeper scientific and technological cooperation in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence and encouraged greater two-way tourism between Shanghai and Thailand to further strengthen the close bond between the Chinese and Thai peoples.

Anutin said he looked forward to expanding practical cooperation in trade, investment, and high-tech fields, particularly in artificial intelligence. He also expressed hope that exchanges and cooperation with Shanghai would be further strengthened across various fields through the friendship-city mechanism.

He added that Thailand will actively support Thai companies in participating in the China International Import Expo, enabling them to make the most of the opportunities in the Chinese market.