Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing will visit France from Sunday until February 12 as President Xi Jinping's special representative at the AI Action Summit, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

Paris is set to become the epicenter of the global artificial intelligence conversation next week as world leaders, tech giants, and scientists gather for the AI Action Summit. Running from February 6 to 11, this week-long event aims to balance AI innovation, ethical development, and international cooperation.

Europe also spies an opportunity to make a new bid for the AI crown. One of French President Emmanuel Macron's officials described the summit to journalists as a "wake up call" for France and Europe, adding that the bloc must not let the AI revolution "pass it by".

Global experts will debate threats from artificial intelligence (AI) at a gathering in Paris on Thursday and Friday, ahead of a summit of world leaders on the fast-moving technology.