Emerging Technology — 2026-07-17

China Establishes World AI Cooperation Organization With 28 Countries Excluding US and EU

BLUFBeijing secured a venue to shape AI norms for the developing world outside Western frameworks, though whether WAICO produces binding standards within the next year remains genuinely uncertain.

Twenty-nine countries signed an agreement in Shanghai on Thursday establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), an independent intergovernmental body headquartered in Shanghai 123. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed on behalf of Beijing, and founding members include Russia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Indonesia and Brazil 14. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the signing ceremony alongside representatives of the other member states and international organizations 12. The agreement states WAICO will pursue international cooperation and governance on AI aimed at safe, fair and beneficial development, while Computerworld reported the United States, European Union and its member states, the UK, Japan and South Korea are not among the signatories 4.

Analysis
WAICO gives Beijing a standards forum running parallel to, not integrated with, US and EU AI governance, letting 29 founding members set norms without Washington or Brussels present; open membership positions China to draw further signatories from Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia among capability-gap states excluded from US-aligned initiatives. Sourcing is broad but structurally shallow, resting on repeated Chinese state wire language alongside independent Western framing of the notable absences. Whether the body produces binding technical standards within the next year is genuinely uncertain given a founding text committing members only to consultation, and the initiative may function primarily as a diplomatic signaling vehicle rather than an enforceable regulatory track, a distinction that determines whether US and EU regulators face a genuine competing governance regime or merely a messaging exercise.

5 sources

Update: 29 countries sign agreement on establishing World AI Cooperation Organization - Xinhua
29 countries sign agreement on establishing World AI Cooperation Organization - The State Council of China (gov.cn)
29 countries sign agreement on establishing World AI Cooperation Organization - CGTN
China, Russia, and 27 others create World AI body, without US - Computerworld
Twenty-Nine Countries Sign Agreement to Establish Global AI Cooperation Body - U.S. News & World Report (Reuters)