On 16 July 2026, the Signing Ceremony of the Agreement on the Establishment of The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization(WAICO) was held in Shanghai, China, making its public debut. 29 countries became founding members at the ceremony with 8 more acceding shortly thereafter. These countries are predominantly from Asia, Africa and Latin America, with some from Europe (full list annexed). UN Secretary-General António Guterres also attended the ceremony.

While WAICO is still finalizing its leadership and governance, its permanent headquarters will be in Shanghai. This cements the city’s status as a strategic hub for international AI collaboration in the Eastern Hemisphere and complements the World Data Organization (WDO) in Beijing in a north-south dual-hub framework: the north as the political center for data governance and the south as the economic and highly internationalized center for AI development and cooperation.

The establishment of WAICO was first proposed by Premier Li Qiang of China during his keynote address at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC). It is an independent intergovernmental organization, offering a developing-country-oriented counterpart to the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence(GPAI) launched under the OECD AI Principles.

According to the founding agreement, WAICO structure comprises a Council, the decision-making body, and a Secretariat that implements the Council decisions. The Councils may grant the observer status to any non-member state and intergovernmental organization and establish subsidiary bodies and working groups as needed.

The organization upholds the purposes and principles of the UN charter, respecting national sovereignty and civilizational diversity. It claims that any state can join the organization. Furthermore, WAICO adopts a human-centric approach, advocating AI for Good and for All. It aims to close the global digital and AI divide through international cooperation, establishing an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for AI development while mitigating risks and promoting safe, secure, ethical and trustworthy AI.

WAICO will focus on three work priorities:

1. Prioritize AI capacity building: through policy exchanges, technological cooperation, personnel training and joint research, it will promote the accessibility of AI technologies and services, ensure that developing countries benefit equally from the new wave of AI.
2. Serve as a supply-demand matching platform: to advance “AI+” initiatives in light of national conditions, strengthen sci-tech and industrial cooperation, encourage the joint building of open-source ecosystems, and produce practical, tangible outcomes;
3. Support the UN in playing a better role: implement the Global Digital Compact and the UN Sustainable Development Goals and promote a fair and equitable global governance system in the AI field.

To read where WAICO essentially sits at must look back to 2023, when China proposed its Global AI Governance Initiative. Two principles from the initiative stands out: respecting national sovereignty in AI deployment and developing AI as a global public good under the UN framework to close global intelligent and digital divide. Together, these laid the groundwork for WAICO. The organization can be read as the product of China’s years of strategic advancement to shape an alternative governance architecture, rather than accepting existing rules.

WAICO definitely warrants global attention for two reasons. Firstly, its scale is considerable. According to estimation made by China Centre For International Science and Technology Exchange, the 37 members cover nearly half of global territory and population among the 197 states. Secondly, the technological capabilities of most member states remain limited. This raises questions about how the organization will balance capacity building with governance standards. WAICO’s pattern resembles China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Whether this open structure translates into genuine pluralism or de facto adoption of Chinese-led standards remains an open question.

Annex: 37 Member States

* are the subsequent members who joined WAICO after the signing ceremony

Sources:

1. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-PcMqFn98qNx54-p3QA2FA
2. https://www.mfa.gov.cn/wjbzhd/202607/t20260716_11984399.shtml
3. https://dig.watch/resource/agreement-on-the-establishment-of-the-world-artificial-intelligence-cooperation-organization
4. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/zZq7OtaPj4KJyAFJwH0mmg
5. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/t5uOFeNnv97MwQ0LBH5OlA
6. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/idSI-EtZyDaZW72M1sI57Q