WAICO Launched as New Global AI Cooperation Body

At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai (17‑20 July 2026), 29 nations signed the founding treaty of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). The intergovernmental body, headquartered in Shanghai and operating under the UN Charter, aims to promote inclusive, people‑centered AI governance, capacity building, open‑source development and the narrowing of the digital divide.

Founding members include China, Russia, Indonesia, Cuba, Oman, Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa and ten African states, among others. Leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres and ministers from Indonesia, Cuba and other delegations affirmed the commitment to cooperate on AI standards, data sharing, computing power, talent training and ethical guidelines. Xi warned that AI must not be dominated by a single country and criticized U.S. restrictions, while promising five‑thousand AI training slots and AI‑driven weather‑alert services for developing nations.

China also released an eight‑point action plan covering data, compute, ecosystems, industrial strengthening, talent, standards, governance and ethics, and pledged to support AI capacity building in the Global South. WAICO seeks to channel AI development toward the Sustainable Development Goals and to provide a multilateral alternative to Western‑led AI governance initiatives.