The misty waters of Jiangnan carry a thousand years of history, and Wuzhen will once again draw the eyes of the world.
The 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, themed "Open Source, Open Access, Jointly Building and Sharing — Working Together to Build a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace," will be held from November 2 to 5.
Guests from around the globe will gather here to chart the future of the internet and discuss strategies for bridging the global digital intelligence divide and sharing the dividends of digital intelligence development.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once said that the real question is not whether new technologies will change the world, but whether that change will narrow or widen inequality, concentrate power or expand opportunity, and allow all countries to share the fruits of development or benefit only a few leading nations.
It is still remembered that at the 2025 World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit, Gisa Purcell, Director-General of Samoa's Communications Regulatory Authority, choked up when speaking about artificial intelligence development. "We don't want to be left behind…" she said, stressing that all countries, regardless of size, strength or wealth, should have the right to develop AI and participate equally, make decisions and benefit in AI development and governance.
Inclusive practices to eliminate the divide: the World Internet Conference advances step by step along the Silk Road
From the lingering echoes of camel bells on the ancient Chang'an road to the glimmering sails of Quanzhou's port, the civilizational threads of the land and maritime Silk Roads are being redrawn in the era of digital intelligence.
Since setting sail in Xi'an in 2024, extending seaward in Quanzhou in 2025, and returning to Xi'an in 2026 to deepen consensus, three consecutive World Internet Conference Digital Silk Road Development Forums have translated the pledge to bridge the digital intelligence divide into concrete action.
They have built platforms for joint consultation on topics such as digital infrastructure, AI governance and cross-border e-commerce, responding to the urgent demands of Belt and Road countries to share in transformation outcomes, while rolling out a series of tangible and inclusive measures.
Inclusive practices to eliminate the divide: the World Internet Conference delivers results across multiple fields
The World Internet Conference Cultural Heritage Digitization Committee solicited digital heritage practices globally. The "World Internet Conference Cultural Heritage Digitization Case Collection (2026)" selected 45 outstanding cases from 13 countries and regions out of nearly 200 submissions worldwide.
The E-commerce and other professional committees successively released the "2026 World Internet Conference Cross-Border E-Commerce Practice Case Collection" and the "Cross-Border E-Commerce Practice Guide for SMEs," providing practical guidance for small and medium-sized enterprises worldwide to integrate into the digital trade system.
The Digital Intelligence Academy has continued to deepen capacity building for developing countries. During the Asia-Pacific Summit, it opened an advanced training course on AI and cybersecurity capacity building, and at the Digital Silk Road Development Forum, it held a training course on AI-driven digital trade capacity building.
Inclusive practices to eliminate the divide: the World Internet Conference builds consensus and synergy amid technological trends
As the traditional "digital divide" rapidly evolves into a deeper "intelligence divide," the choice between openness and closure, cooperation and "decoupling," has become a core issue facing the world.
Upholding the concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, the World Internet Conference has always been committed to improving the global digital intelligence governance system, building consensus through dialogue and bridging the digital intelligence divide through action.
Since the start of this year, the World Internet Conference has continued to jointly build and share a global digital intelligence governance dialogue platform.
It held the "International Standards Exchange on Responsible Artificial Intelligence" seminar to promote the translation of governance requirements such as safety, transparency and responsibility into actionable and mutually recognized practice standards.
At the 2026 AI Frontier Summit in Tunisia, it conveyed the shared aspiration of "working together for governance and pursuing common development."
At the Second Istanbul Global E-Export Summit, it shared practical experience and innovative pathways in e-commerce ecosystem building and digital trade development.
From the "digital divide" to the "intelligence divide," what has changed is the way the world connects, but what remains unchanged is the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit.
The 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit focuses on "open source and open access" and "jointly building and sharing," which is a proactive move to follow the trends of technological development and respond to the common concerns of the international community. It is also a solid step for the World Internet Conference to give play to its role as an international exchange platform and continuously deepen the important concept of "working together to build a community with a shared future in cyberspace."
At this year's Wuzhen Summit, the participation and international character of various activities continue to improve.
The call for practice cases under "Working Together to Build a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace" received more than 360 submissions from over 80 countries and regions worldwide, with 22 countries and regions participating for the first time.
The World Internet Conference Leading Science and Technology Award collected more than 430 scientific and technological achievements from 43 countries and regions, continuously promoting digital intelligence technology development outcomes to resonate with human well-being.
The curtain is about to rise on the 2026 Wuzhen Summit.
From inclusive cultivation along the Silk Road to global governance dialogue, embracing the world with an open-source and open-access posture and seeking inclusive governance with a heart for joint building and sharing will surely bring the fruits of digital intelligence development to more countries and peoples, and jointly build a new inclusive global digital governance landscape.
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