Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the launch of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) at the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai, establishing a new international body designed to set global AI standards and governance norms2. The move represents Beijing's most direct institutional challenge to Washington's influence over how the world regulates artificial intelligence.
In a keynote titled "Joining Hands to Build a Just and Equitable System for Global AI Governance," Xi outlined four principles for international AI development: openness and win-win cooperation, risk awareness and controllability, inclusiveness and mutual learning, and solidarity in governance through multilateral platforms including the UN. He also pledged 5,000 training opportunities for developing countries, with collaboration targeting regional blocs including ASEAN and BRICS.
The new organization is actively enlisting Global South states3. Xi's speech directly criticized the tendency to prioritize security interests over cooperation — a reference to the US approach to AI governance, which has leaned heavily on export controls and national security restrictions, particularly around advanced chips and frontier AI models.
WAIC 2026 opened alongside the WAICO launch with 300 product debuts1, underscoring the conference's role as a showcase for China's commercial AI ecosystem in addition to its new geopolitical function.
ANALYSIS The creation of WAICO as a formal international organization — rather than a forum or declaration — marks an escalation in the institutional competition over AI governance. By coupling standards-setting authority with capacity-building pledges aimed at developing nations, the structure is designed to attract countries that have had limited voice in AI rule-making to date. The explicit framing against US export-control-driven governance creates a binary choice dynamic for countries weighing alignment on AI policy.