The new World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, spearheaded by China, signals a deepening geopolitical split in how nations approach AI regulation and development.
Twenty-nine countries formally agreed on July 16 to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, or WAICO, in a signing ceremony held in Shanghai. The new intergovernmental body is designed to promote international AI cooperation, with a particular emphasis on making the technology accessible to developing nations in the Global South.
Who’s in and what they want #
The 29 founding members include Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, and Indonesia, among others. It’s a geographically diverse coalition spanning Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, united less by shared ideology than by a common interest in not having AI governance dictated to them by Washington or Brussels.
WAICO’s stated mission centers on enhancing international cooperation in AI governance, with a focus on supporting developing countries that lack the infrastructure and capital to compete in an AI race increasingly dominated by a handful of tech superpowers. The organization is designed to operate independently of existing Western-centric frameworks while aligning with broader United Nations initiatives.
WAICO builds directly on the Global AI Governance Action Plan that China introduced at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in July 2025. That earlier plan laid out priorities around safety standards and capacity-building, effectively telegraphing Beijing’s intention to position itself as the convener of an alternative AI governance architecture.
The geopolitical chess match over AI rules #
For context, the European Union has its AI Act. The US has taken a more fragmented, executive-order-driven approach. And now WAICO offers a third path, one explicitly designed to appeal to nations that feel underserved by both. The notable absence of any crypto or blockchain discussion in WAICO’s founding framework is itself informative. It suggests that, at least for now, the organization views AI governance as a separate domain from digital assets and blockchain technologies.
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