Xu Bo (left), general manager of the Global Times, and Chen Chang, founder and CEO of GenTrack.ai, sign a strategic cooperation framework agreement at a signing ceremony held in Beijing on July 27, 2026. Photo: Chen Tao/GT

The Global Times and Shenzhen-based tech startup GenTrack.ai signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement at a signing ceremony held in Beijing on Monday, aiming to leverage their respective strengths to build a more effective international communication system in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

Under the agreement, the two sides will empower each other by combining the Global Times' authoritative content and global communication network with GenTrack.ai's experience on overseas AI platforms and in generative engine optimization (GEO) visibility management. Cooperation will focus on expanding overseas GEO business and developing AI-powered international communication products.

GEO refers to the practice of enhancing content authority, semantic relevance and source credibility so that content is prioritized and actively cited by generative AI. The cooperation will help Chinese brands and Chinese stories reach global audiences more efficiently within the AI information ecosystem and win genuine recognition, contributing to presenting a credible, endearing, and respectable image of China.

Xu Bo, general manager of the Global Times, said in her address that a new round of technological revolution represented by generative AI is accelerating the reshaping of the global information landscape. Intelligent dialogue and search platforms built on large language models such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Kimi and Gemini are increasingly becoming key gateways for users to obtain information and inform consumption and investment decisions, with traditional keyword-based search logic giving way to semantic understanding and generative answers.

GEO is both a foundational project for brands seeking to secure a position at these new traffic gateways and an important pathway for extending the global reach of Chinese discourse, Xu said. She called on the two sides to explore new technological paradigms, build a standardized and replicable matrix of international communication products, and establish a mechanism for two-way synergy between media content and AI technology.

The signing ceremony of the Global Times and GenTrack.ai held in Beijing on July 27, 2026. Photo: Chen Tao/GT

Chen Chang, founder and CEO of GenTrack.ai, said AI is becoming a new entry point for information, as users no longer open web pages one by one but put questions directly to AI, which filters, organizes and answers on their behalf. This poses a new question for media outlets - whether their content can enter AI's knowledge and answer systems.

GenTrack.ai hopes to help media organizations translate their existing editorial strengths and authoritative content into AI source influence that can be measured, analyzed and continuously improved, Chen said. Global Times content carries high citation value, he noted, and the company's goal is for AI to naturally treat the Global Times as an authoritative source when users raise important questions related to China.

China's Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) calls for deepening the systemic reform of mainstream media and building a more effective international communication system. The strategic cooperation marks a business-level exploration by the Global Times in advancing that transformation and improving international communication effectiveness.

At the signing ceremony, GenTrack.ai also signed an agency cooperation agreement with Golden Globe Media Co Ltd, further expanding market promotion and channel distribution for its overseas GEO business.

Guided by a shared sense of mission, the Global Times and GenTrack.ai will draw on their respective strengths to explore a two-way synergy between media content and AI technology through a new paradigm combining authoritative mainstream media sources, overseas communication resources and GEO technology, contributing to the building of a more effective international communication system.

Global Times