World AI Cooperation Organization

Twenty-nine countries signed the agreement establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) on July 16, 2026, on the eve of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, where the China-proposed intergovernmental body will be headquartered. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed alongside representatives of founding members including Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Jaslan Mädiev, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Russian official Maxim Oreshkin, and Indonesian Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres attending as an invited guest. Analysts view the 37-member organization, first proposed by Chinese Premier Li Qiang in July 2025 and reiterated by Xi Jinping at the 32nd APEC meeting in October 2025, as a rival to the US-led Pax Silica initiative aimed at counterbalancing Western influence over rare-earth, semiconductor, and AI governance supply chains.

World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization | World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization 世界人工智能合作组织 | | |---|---| | Headquarters | Shanghai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai , China | | Type | Intergovernmental organization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmental organization | | Membership | 37 member states | | Leaders | | | • Governing body | Council of Member States | | • Executive body | Secretariat | | Establishment | | | • WAICO Agreement signing | July 16, 2026 | The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization WAICO is an international organization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International organization focused on artificial intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial intelligence AI established in July 2026. Proposed by China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China prior to its 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World Artificial Intelligence Conference , it is headquartered in Shanghai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai and oriented toward the Global South https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global North and Global South . The organization is viewed by analysts as a rival to the US-led Pax Silica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax Silica initiative, aiming to counterbalance Western influence across global supply chains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply chain for rare-earth elements https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare-earth element , semiconductors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiconductor , and AI governance. \ 1\ cite note-:2-1 History edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=1 The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization was first proposed by Chinese Premier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier of China Li Qiang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li Qiang in July 2025. \ 2\ cite note-2 \ 3\ cite note-aljazeera-3 CCP General Secretary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi Jinping reiterated the proposal at the 32nd meeting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APEC South Korea 2025 of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in October 2025. \ 4\ cite note-:0-4 On 16 July 2026, 29 countries signed the agreement on the creation of the WAICO on the eve of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.<sup \ 5\ cite note-5 </sup United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/António Guterres attended the signing ceremony as an invited guest.<sup \ 6\ cite note-6 </sup Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang Yi signed the agreement alongside senior representatives from founding members, including Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Jaslan Mädiev https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaslan Mädiev , Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishaq Dar , Russian official Maxim Oreshkin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim Oreshkin , and Indonesian Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airlangga Hartarto .<sup \ 7\ cite note-:1-7 </sup The establishment of WAICO was widely seen as Beijing's strategic response to the US-led Pax Silica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax Silica framework. \ 1\ cite note-:2-1 The agreement establishes WAICO as a China-led intergovernmental organization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International organization , designed to be open to all sovereign states while primarily focusing on digital development in the Global South https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global North and Global South . China's positioning within the organization heavily emphasizes the adoption of open-source artificial intelligence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source artificial intelligence . \ 8\ cite note-8 \ 9\ cite note-9 <sup \ 3\ cite note-aljazeera-3 </sup This focus coincided with increasing international adoption of Chinese open-weight models, such as those from DeepSeek https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeepSeek , Kimi <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimi AI , and Z.ai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z.ai , which grew to account for around 40% of token usage among surveyed US firms by mid-2026. \ 10\ cite note-l247-10 Following the initial ceremony, several additional states acceded to the agreement in late July 2026, including Iran, whose ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli signed the charter following bilateral meetings with Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Bin <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu Bin diplomat . \ 11\ cite note-irna-11 Membership edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=2 Twenty-nine countries signed the founding agreement on 16 July 2026 in Shanghai, followed by eight additional signatories later that month, bringing the total membership to 37 countries. Founding member states edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=3 The 29 countries that signed the founding agreement on 16 July 2026: \ 12\ cite note-12 Later signatory members edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=4 30 July 2026: 31 July 2026: \ 13\ cite note-:4-13 Observer states edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=5 - Bangladesh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh – Joined as an observer state on 1 August 2026<sup \ 15\ cite note-15 </sup Invitees edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=6 Structure edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=7 As specified by the founding treaty, WAICO consists of a council https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council and a secretariat <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat administrative office .<sup \ 17\ cite note-:3-17 </sup The council consists of all member states and serves as the highest decision-making authority, responsible for admitting new members and observers, appointing the secretary-general and deputy secretaries-general, and establishing subsidiary bodies or working groups https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working group . \ 17\ cite note-:3-17 The secretariat is headed by one secretary-general https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary-general and two deputy secretaries-general, each serving three-year terms. \ 17\ cite note-:3-17 Reactions edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=8 Arindrajit Basu, writing for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , suggested that the Chinese government might intend to use WAICO to expand its network of bilateral AI cooperation centers and shape multilateral AI policy discussions at the United Nations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United Nations . \ 18\ cite note-18 Science policy analyst Elizabeth Gibney, writing in Nature <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature journal in 2025, speculated that WAICO would likely not govern the international AI industry in an enforceable manner, but rather focus on technical cooperation and capacity-building. \ 4\ cite note-:0-4 Indonesian digital and telecommunications analyst Heru Sutadi highlighted that the global AI ecosystem remains heavily concentrated in hardware, compute capacity, and foundational models dominated by a handful of Western tech firms. In an interview with Majalah ICT , he warned that this risks creating a severe "AI divide", and commented: \ 19\ cite note-19 WAICO must be more than just an international organization discussing AI developments. It must be a platform that champions the interests of the Global South so that it is not left further behind in the artificial intelligence revolution. AI must be a technology that empowers all countries, not just strengthens the dominance of a handful of global technology companies. See also edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=9 References edit https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization&action=edit§ion=10 1. 1 cite ref-:2 1-0 2 cite ref-:2 1-1 Chen, Laurie; Hall, Casey; Baptista, Eduardo. "Xi pitches China as leader of new global AI order, challenging US dominance" https://reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-xi-promotes-chinas-commitment-ai-access-speech-shanghai-conference-2026-07-17 . Reuters . 2. ↑ cite ref-2 "What to expect from China's global AI conference" https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/explainer-what-to-expect-from-china-s-global-ai-conference/4000542 . Anadolu Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anadolu Agency . 2026-07-16. Retrieved 2026-07-16. 3. 1 cite ref-aljazeera 3-0 2 cite ref-aljazeera 3-1 "China's Xi Jinping launches new AI alliance: What is it?" https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/chinas-xi-jinping-launches-new-ai-alliance-what-is-it . Al Jazeera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al Jazeera . 17 July 2026. Retrieved 2026-07-24. 4. 1 cite ref-:0 4-0 2 cite ref-:0 4-1 Gibney, Elizabeth 2025-12-01 . "China wants to lead the world on AI regulation — will the plan work?". Nature <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature journal . 648 8094 : 503–505. doi <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doi identifier : 10.1038/d41586-025-03902-y https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fd41586-025-03902-y . ISSN <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISSN identifier 1476-4687 https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1476-4687 . PMID <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMID identifier 41326711 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41326711 . 5. ↑ cite ref-5 "Twenty-nine countries sign agreement to establish global AI cooperation body" https://www.reuters.com/world/china/twenty-nine-countries-sign-agreement-establish-global-ai-cooperation-body-2026-07-16/ . Reuters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuters . 16 July 2026. Retrieved 16 July 2026. 6. ↑ cite ref-6 "成立世界人工智能合作组织协定签署仪式在上海举行" http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2026/0716/c1001-40762197.html The signing ceremony for the agreement to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization was held in Shanghai. . People's Daily https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's Daily in Chinese . 16 July 2026. Retrieved 16 July 2026. 7. ↑ cite ref-:1 7-0 "Update: 29 countries sign agreement on establishing World AI Cooperation Organization" https://english.news.cn/20260716/b0449aa2133542868e310fdc45ef2969/c.html . Xinhua News Agency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinhua News Agency . 16 July 2026. Retrieved 16 July 2026. 8. ↑ cite ref-8 Guey, William; Bougault, Pierrick; Zhang, Wei; Moura, Vitor D. de; Gomes, José O. 2026-06-22 . "World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization WAICO : Mapping an Emerging Institution in the Global AI Governance Regime Complex". arXiv <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArXiv identifier : 2606.23860 https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.23860 cs.CY https://arxiv.org/archive/cs.CY . 9. ↑ cite ref-9 Stan, Alina Maria 2026-07-16 . "World AI Cooperation Organization founded in Shanghai" https://thenextweb.com/news/china-world-ai-cooperation-organization-waico-signed . TNW . Retrieved 2026-07-17. 10. ↑ cite ref-l247 10-0 Nicol-Schwarz, Kai 2026-07-07 . "Chinese AI models are gaining ground with U.S. companies as OpenAI, Anthropic costs surge" https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/07/chinese-ai-models-costs-us-openai-anthropic.html . CNBC . Retrieved 2026-07-27. 11. 1 cite ref-irna 11-0 2 cite ref-irna 11-1 "Iran joins world AI cooperation organization" https://en.irna.ir/news/86224376/Iran-joins-world-AI-cooperation-organization . IRNA . 31 July 2026. Retrieved 2026-08-12. 12. ↑ cite ref-12 "世界人工智能合作组织协定签署仪式举行，总部设中国上海" https://blog.creaders.net/u/37878/202607/557551.html Signing ceremony held for the Agreement on the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization; headquarters to be based in Shanghai, China. . Creaders . 16 July 2026. Retrieved 2026-07-16. 13. 1 cite ref-:4 13-0 2 cite ref-:4 13-1 Xiong, Reid 2026-08-05 . "WAICO Signatories Reach 37: Which Countries Have Signed" https://southwardtech.com/waico-signatories-37-countries/ . Retrieved 2026-09-03. 14. ↑ cite ref-14 "Sudan Signs Agreement Establishing World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization as a Founding Member State – Beijing" https://tpra.gov.sd/en/sudan-signs-agreement-establishing-world-artificial-intelligence-cooperation-organization-as-a-founding-member-state/ . TPRA Sudan . 2026-08-01. Retrieved 2026-09-03. 15. ↑ cite ref-15 "Bangladesh to join global AI body as observer | The Daily Star" https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/bangladesh-join-global-ai-body-observer-4237571 . The Daily Star . Retrieved 2026-09-03. 16. ↑ cite ref-16 Lee, Li Ying 9 September 2026 . "Singapore considering invitation to join China-led AI bloc" https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2026/09/09/singapore-considering-invitation-to-join-china-led-ai-bloc . TheStar . Retrieved 9 September 2026. 17. 1 cite ref-:3 17-0 2 cite ref-:3 17-1 3 cite ref-:3 17-2 "Agreement on the Establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization | Digital Watch Observatory" https://dig.watch/resource/agreement-on-the-establishment-of-the-world-artificial-intelligence-cooperation-organization . Archived https://ghostarchive.org/archive/nDVxA from the original on 28 August 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2026. 18. ↑ cite ref-18 Basu, Arindrajit 21 May 2026 . "China's Pivot on Global AI" https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2026/05/chinas-pivot-on-global-ai . Carnegie Endowment for International Peace . Archived https://web.archive.org/web/20260523200522/https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2026/05/chinas-pivot-on-global-ai from the original on 23 May 2026. 19. ↑ cite ref-19 "Indonesia Joins WAICO, Digital Expert Heru Sutadi: WAICO Hopes to Develop Global AI That Is More Beneficial, Fair, Transparent, Safe, and Inclusive" https://www.majalahict.com/indonesia-gabung-ke-waico-pakar-digital-heru-sutadi-lewat-waico-diharapkan-pengembangan-ai-dunia-yang-lebih-bermanfaat-adil-transparan-aman-dan-inklusif/ . Majalah ICT . 18 July 2026. Retrieved 18 July 2026.