China and 28 Nations Establish World AI Cooperation Organization

On July 16, 2026, representatives of 29 countries, including China, Russia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Brazil, signed an agreement in Shanghai establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (世界人工智能合作組織), or WAICO, an intergovernmental body headquartered in Shanghai. According to the agreement, WAICO commits members to a “people-centered approach” to AI governance, language drawn from Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s Global AI Governance Initiative, unveiled in October 2023, which frames Beijing as a champion of developing nations against Western-dominated technology standards. No major Western economy joined WAICO. Wang Yi (王毅), a member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and China’s foreign minister, signed on behalf of Beijing, while United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres attended the ceremony. The signing was held on the eve of the 2026 World AI Conference, a forum first held in 2018 and co-organized by China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s powerful central economic planning agency, along with other state bodies. The next day, at the conference’s opening ceremony, Xi urged attendees to help “Global South” countries close the AI “divide.” Xinhua, the state news agency, used the summit to amplify this narrative, quoting Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, describing AI as “the next chapter” in Indonesia-China cooperation, without independent comment on the terms or implications of Indonesia’s involvement. The 29 founding members were: China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Oman, Algeria, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, Brazil, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Russia, Belarus, and Serbia.