The 2026 World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit will be held on April 13-14 in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, focusing on leveraging digital technologies to drive regional economic development, according to Ren Xianliang, secretary-general of the WIC.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday, Ren said the WIC is committed to building bridges for a globally inclusive governance framework and fostering a community with a shared future in cyberspace.

He emphasized the importance of ensuring that the benefits of artificial intelligence development are shared by all humanity, particularly by enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries in global AI governance.

Under the theme "digital empowerment and innovative development: joining hands to build a community in cyberspace", the summit will bring together ministerial-level officials, delegates from international organizations, and leaders of leading internet companies from around the world.

Ren noted that this year's summit will host its first ministerial-level meeting and feature six sub-forums covering intelligent agent innovation and applications, digital finance, AI safety governance, smart public services, digital well-being, and the digitalization and dissemination of classical texts.

This will be the second time the summit is held in Hong Kong. Last year's inaugural summit in the city attracted more than 1,000 participants from over 50 countries.

Sun Dong, secretary for innovation, technology and industry of the Hong Kong SAR government, said Hong Kong will actively align with the country's science and technology innovation strategy outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), which continues to support the city in developing into an international innovation and technology hub.

"The Hong Kong SAR government will intensify efforts to promote AI as a core industry for future development, advancing both the industrialization of AI and the integration of AI across industries," Sun said.

Sun also noted that the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of the year, providing further support for AI project development, commercialization of research outcomes, and guidance on governance frameworks.