World AI Cooperation Organization Founded in Shanghai
29 Countries Sign Treaty to Establish the World AI Cooperation Organization
Twenty-nine countries have signed an agreement to establish the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a new intergovernmental body based in Shanghai.
July 16, 2026 – 5:28 pm
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Twenty-nine countries signed an agreement on July 16 to establish the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), as reported by Reuters. China states that this intergovernmental body aims to promote international cooperation and global governance in AI.
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, signed on behalf of Beijing. UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended the ceremony. The founding members include Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, along with 10 African and 12 Asian countries.
The organization will be based in Shanghai, as stated by state agency Xinhua. China proposed WAICO at last year’s conference, but no country had formally announced membership until now.
Timed for the AI Summit
The signing took place on the eve of the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai. Xi Jinping is expected to open the event in person for the first time and outline China’s vision for global AI governance. A linked High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance will also review WAICO’s progress.
Competing Visions
China and the US set out rival approaches at a recent UN AI dialogue, according to Reuters. Washington argued that heavy regulation would stifle breakthroughs, while Beijing framed its low-cost, open-source models as a public good that could narrow global AI inequality.
Few major US tech firms are attending the Shanghai conference. The two governments are also preparing for their first official AI talks under President Donald Trump. This dispute is part of a wider US-China contest over AI.
Analysts describe WAICO as a body for developing countries outside Western frameworks, including the EU’s AI Act and the G7 process.
“China has been making inroads with Southeast Asian countries in terms of AI capacity-building,” an Asian diplomat told Reuters. It “portrays itself as speaking up for developing countries who are being left behind in the AI race.”
Story by
Alina Maria Stan