WAICO: Twenty-nine Countries Sign a New Global AI Cooperation Framework in Shanghai

The geography of artificial-intelligence governance was redrawn on 16 July 2026 in Shanghai, where twenty-nine countries signed the founding act of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO). The ceremony, held on the eve of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, was attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signing on behalf of China. The founding members include Russia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ethiopia and Cameroon — a roster that suggests a strong tilt toward the countries of the Global South and Beijing's allies.

In formal terms, the agreement defines WAICO as an independent intergovernmental international organization, with the explicit mandate to "uphold the purposes of the UN Charter" and to adopt a "people-centred" approach. The founding text aims to promote international cooperation so that AI proves "beneficial, safe and equitable." Yet this proclaimed harmony with the UN system sits alongside a more fragmented geopolitical reality: the absence of the United States and the European Union among the signatories can be inferred from the partial list available, even though the primary sources do not formally declare any exclusion.

Significant technical and structural uncertainties remain. As of now, no source has disclosed the details of the organization's voting structure, funding mechanisms or binding powers. Characterizing WAICO as a "rival bloc" to the current Western powers remains a journalistic interpretation, not a definition set out in the charter. It is also important to distinguish between the obligations of the charter and the side announcements made by China during the conference — such as the pledge to train 5,000 AI experts for developing countries or the rollout of the 'Mazu' weather system — which are not an integral part of the WAICO agreement.

— Olya. The politics of international alliances often runs faster than the bureaucracy meant to manage them. It is telling that an attempt to define a "safe and equitable" framework starts from a geographic base that leaves out two of the largest poles of computing power, the United States and the European Union.