Artificial intelligence should not be dominated by a single country, China's leader Xi Jinping said Friday, urging global cooperation on its development as he addressed a major conference in Shanghai.

"AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation," he said at the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

"We should put in place laws and regulations, technological monitoring, early warning, and emergency response systems, in order to... ensure AI is always under human control," he added, calling for a "people-centric" approach.