HANGZHOU -- China on Tuesday announced the launch of a global AI education service platform during the 2026 World Digital Education Conference in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, aiming to promote cross-border sharing of high-quality educational resources and further integrate AI into education.

The launch comes as part of a broader upgrade to the Smart Education of China, a digital education platform now accessible in around 220 countries and regions. The upgraded platform expands its international services with new features, including a lifelong learning hub and a Chinese language learning community.

The conference, which runs from May 11 to 13, also saw the release of a report outlining China's policy progress and innovative practices in smart education.

An initiative on AI education was also unveiled at the event, calling for better use of AI to support well-rounded and sustainable human development. It also urged stronger efforts to bridge the global digital divide by making better use of smart education platforms to share high-quality resources and digital tools.

The World Internet Conference (WIC) was established as an international organization on July 12, 2022, headquartered in Beijing, China. It was jointly initiated by Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT), China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), Alibaba Group, Tencent, and Zhijiang Lab.