World Insight with Tian Wei

A massive migrant rush to Spain's North African territory Ceuta has rattled the EU exposing sharp divisions within the EU over border and migration policy. The EU has pledged emergency financial and operational support for Spain while acknowledging deep seated disagreements among member states on border sharing. Meanwhile, the UN has been closely monitoring the humanitarian fallout of the event as the High Commissioner for refugee called for the protection of vulnerable people meet the border turmoil. What are the migrant crisis root causes? What does it take to deal with the aftermath now?

We will focus on this season's AI and basic sciences program. Amid rapid AI advances, China has made governance a global priority—recently, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary Rubio agreed in Manila to follow heads-of-state guidance and act across fields including AI. But how can the world prepare for the AI era? I spoke exclusively with UNDP chief Alexander de Croo at WAIC, and also with ex-DeepMind researcher Richard Jane on safety and alignment.

Starting on August 2, the European Commission's AI office extended the scope of the Artificial Intelligence Act, and new transparency rules came into force. Interactive AI systems such as chatbots must now clearly inform users they are not human. AI generated or manipulated content also must carry machine readable markings. These obligations mark a significant step in the phased rollout of the EU's AI Act, but its implications stretch far beyond Europe. How will these rules and related rules meanwhile reshape the trajectory of AI development? What does it mean? For the future of global AI governance, this is a topic beyond Europe.

The latest number: China's GDP grew by 4.7 percent year on year in the first half of 2026. The latest meeting: the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau meeting. It noted that since the beginning of this year, China's economy has shown a trend characterized by new growth drivers and improving economic structure. The meeting called for efforts to advance the planning and development of six major infrastructure networks, strengthen long-term and stable support for basic research, implement the AI Plus Initiative, foster new forms of the smart economy, and improve the governance system for artificial intelligence. Where is the Chinese economy exactly headed?

August 1 this year marks the 85th anniversary of the Flying Tigers, a historic chapter when Chinese and American soldiers fought side by side and entrusted each other with their lives during some of the darkest days of World War II. That shared sacrifice has remained one of the most deeply resonant chapters in the history of friendship between the two peoples. Decades later, veterans and their families returned to China not as fighters, but as visitors carrying memories of a shared past.

Robotics, artificial intelligence and innovative medicines have emerged as new growth engines in China's trade portfolio, with some calling them the "new new three," following the earlier trio of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells. The numbers are striking. Chinese large language models processed more than 36 trillion tokens in the third week of July, ranking first globally for the 12th consecutive week. China exported 930 million US dollars worth of industrial robots in the first half of the year, up more than 18 percent year on year. Meanwhile, Chinese pharmaceutical firms were involved in eight of the world's 10 largest innovative drug licensing deals, worth around 110 billion dollars.

AI startup Kimi released its K3 model on Tuesday Beijing time, with third-party evaluations showing performance comparable to Claude 5 at a fraction of the cost per task. The rise of capable and affordable Chinese AI models is fueling global debates over technology competition and regulation. In the US, companies including Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI, along with more than 30 signatories, are urging policymakers to support open-weight models and avoid conflating legitimate techniques like distillation with unlawful extraction. Where is the debate heading, and what could it mean for future AI development and China-US AI dialogue?

Chinese mathematicians Deng Yu and Wang Hong were awarded the Fields Medals at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians on Thursday. Shing-Tung Yau, a renowned mathematician and a professor at Tsinghua University, sent his congratulations. We earlier interviewed Professor Yau, who has long championed the cultivation of young talent and the pursuit of scientific rigor and originality.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting series has recently concluded in Manila. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi cited the tangible achievements of the China-ASIAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership over the past five years. He stressed the need for greater unity in facing emerging challenges and uncertainties. Wang also met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the ministerial gathering. What are the outcomes of this key diplomatic interaction? What could be its impact?

As this year's World Artificial Intelligence Conference wrapped up, China's vision for developing Al has become remarkably clear. Yet one fundamental question stands out: what does people-centered Al truly mean? I post this question to leading policy makers, scientists and global leaders at the conference, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He did say global Al governance remains in its infancy, urging nations to build bridges in shaping Al. He also welcomed China's initiative to help the developing world harness Al responsibility as these technologies determine our shared future.