What it is
The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) is a new intergovernmental body, headquartered in Shanghai, created to coordinate international cooperation on artificial intelligence. Chinese Premier Li Qiang first floated the idea at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai; Xi Jinping repeated the pitch a few months later at the APEC leaders’ meeting. The organization moved from proposal to institution on July 16, 2026, when representatives of 29 countries signed its founding charter on the eve of the 2026 WAIC — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed on Beijing’s behalf, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended the ceremony.
The founding roster is a Global South coalition rather than a great-power club: Algeria, Belarus, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, the Republic of Congo, Cuba, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Zambia. WAICO describes itself as “open to all sovereign states,” with membership not conditioned on a country’s political system or values — language clearly aimed at distinguishing it from Western-led governance clubs that attach normative conditions to participation. No United States or European Union member state signed on as a founding member.
Why it matters for AI governance and narratives
WAICO is best read as an institutional bid in the contest over who gets to write the rules for AI, not as a technical standards body. Its own framing leans heavily on themes that resonate with developing-world audiences: narrowing the “AI divide” between rich and poor nations, a “people-centered” approach, and cooperation “in line with the principles of the UN Charter.” That vocabulary positions China as the convener of an inclusive alternative to governance processes still dominated by the US, the EU, and the G7 — venues where developing nations have often felt like rule-takers rather than rule-makers.
For the observatory’s purposes, WAICO is a clean test case of the Builder-vs-Regulator and China threads converging: Beijing is simultaneously building industrial capacity (open-model exports, infrastructure partnerships reaching countries like Indonesia) and building the diplomatic scaffolding to legitimize that capacity as global public good rather than national advantage. Analysts quoted in early coverage are split on substance versus signaling — one cautioned that WAICO “will likely not govern the AI industry in an enforceable way,” while others see it as a vehicle for China to expand AI cooperation centers and shape discussions at the UN before Washington sets competing norms. Either reading supports the same observation: the absence of the US and EU from the founding table is itself a signal, allowing WAICO to claim ownership of the “Global South AI governance” framing largely uncontested.
Key facts and dates
- First proposed: July 2025, by Premier Li Qiang at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.
- Reiterated: October 2025, by Xi Jinping at the APEC leaders’ meeting.
- Formally established: July 16, 2026, with 29 founding signatories, timed to precede the 2026 WAIC.
- Headquarters: Shanghai, China.
- Signing officials: Wang Yi (China’s foreign minister) signed for Beijing; UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended.
- Founding members: 29 states, concentrated in Africa, Latin America, Central and Southeast Asia, and including Russia — but no US or EU state.
- Stated mission: to strengthen international cooperation and governance on AI so it remains “beneficial, safe, and fair,” with explicit emphasis on closing the technology-access gap between wealthy and developing nations.
What WAICO can actually do — whether it will issue binding standards, fund infrastructure, or function mainly as a diplomatic signaling venue — remains unsettled in the available reporting. Coverage to date is heavier on the political framing of its launch than on operational detail, and this backgrounder does not speculate beyond what sources currently support.
Where to learn more
- World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization — Wikipedia — consolidated overview of founding members, dates, and structure.
- China Launches Shanghai-Based AI Governance Body With 29 Founding Nations — Caixin Global — Chinese financial press coverage of the launch.
- China’s Xi Jinping launches new AI alliance: What is it? — Al Jazeera — international coverage with Xi Jinping’s framing and US-China governance context.
- With New AI Governance Organization, China Seeks to Formalize Its Global AI Influence — The Diplomat — policy analysis on strategic motivations and limits of the body.