China has launched a new intergovernmental body to coordinate global artificial intelligence policy, positioning itself as an alternative pole to the United States on AI governance.
President Xi Jinping announced the creation of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) on July 17 at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, according to state news agency Xinhua. Twenty-nine countries signed on as founding members, including Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa and Senegal. The organization will be headquartered in Shanghai.
What Xi promised
Xi described WAICO as a response to “the call of the Global South” for a greater voice in how AI is governed. “AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation,” he said, according to Xinhua.
Over the next five years, China said it will offer 5,000 AI training and seminar opportunities to developing countries and set up joint AI application centers with regional blocs including ASEAN, the African Union, the League of Arab States, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS. Xi also said 30 countries would get access to MAZU, a Chinese-built AI meteorological forecasting system.
A rival to US-led efforts
Xi also urged countries to “oppose the practice of overstretching the concept of national security” in AI — a veiled reference to the export controls Washington has used to limit Chinese access to advanced chips.
Analysts described WAICO as China’s answer to Pax Silica, a rival AI framework the US launched with allies including Japan, the UK, Australia and India. Consultant George Chen of The Asia Group said the move signals Beijing positioning itself as a reliable AI partner for countries wary of depending on a single dominant supplier, according to Fortune.
WAICO is the most concrete step yet in China’s push to shape global AI rules through a standing multilateral institution rather than one-off bilateral deals, following Xi’s earlier calls this year for more “inclusive” AI governance at United Nations forums.