China is planning to attend the UK’s summit on artificial intelligence at Bletchley Park next month, according to British and Chinese officials, despite recent controversy over alleged spying by Beijing in Westminster.UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has envisaged the AI summit as an opportunity to gather global policymakers and tech executives to set out an international approach to governance of the fast-emerging technology.

Two Chinese government officials told the Financial Times that China has decided to send at least a representative to the summit. UK officials also said Beijing had accepted London’s invitation to attend the summit.

The diplomatic challenges of bringing Chinese delegates together with western leaders, at a time when Washington is tightening controls on Beijing’s access to AI technology, had made China’s participation uncertain.