Ukrainian military said it struck a refinery in Russia's Yaroslavl region and hit two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea.

China today launched the inaugural World Artificial Intelligence Conference — Academic (WAIC-Academic, WAICA), an international open academic platform built on eight years of WAIC experience to serve global AI researchers.

On July 17, 2026, Wang Yi, CCP Politburo member and foreign minister, met in Shanghai with Oreshkin, deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, who was attending the World Artificial Intelligence Conference. Wang said China and Russia are comprehensive strategic partners and framed Russia’s accession to the World AI Cooperation Organization as a sign of high-level ties that will aid the body’s development. He said Beijing and Moscow will cooperate to steer AI toward healthy, safe and orderly development, strengthen capacity building in the Global South, and make AI a substantive component of China‑Russia strategic cooperation, echoing Xi’s opening remark that AI should be used for good and benefit all humanity.