In China’s creation of new global AI body, a push for lead role in governance
Twenty-nine nations formally established the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), headquartered in Shanghai, around the opening of the 2026 World AI Conference and a High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance
WAICO is structured as an independent international organisation guided by United Nations Charter principles, with a stated mission to promote "beneficial, safe and fair" AI development
Founding members include Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Laos; no G7 economy or major Western democracy joined at launch
Plans announced alongside the launch include setting up joint AI application-cooperation centres with regional groupings such as ASEAN, the African Union, the League of Arab States, CELAC, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS
Comparative Global AI Governance Architecture
Global AI governance currently runs through several overlapping, non-binding and binding frameworks. The OECD AI Principles (2019) were the first intergovernmental AI standard and were also adopted by the G20, covering AI policy broadly rather than only advanced models. The G7 Hiroshima AI Process, launched in May 2023, built on the OECD principles but focused specifically on frontier/generative AI, producing Guiding Principles, an International Code of Conduct and a voluntary Reporting Framework. The Bletchley Declaration (November 2023), issued at the UK's inaugural AI Safety Summit, was signed by 28 countries including the US, China, India and the EU, addressing frontier AI risks, transparency and human oversight. The EU AI Act is the only one of these that is legally binding, using a risk-tiered classification of AI systems.
Key Details
- OECD AI Principles: adopted 2019, also endorsed by the G20, broad organisational scope
- G7 Hiroshima AI Process: launched May 2023; comprises Guiding Principles, an International Code of Conduct, and a voluntary Reporting Framework focused on frontier/generative AI
- Bletchley Declaration: signed November 2023 at the UK AI Safety Summit by 28 countries including the US, China, India and the EU
- EU AI Act: the only legally binding framework among these, classifying AI systems by risk tier (unacceptable, high, limited, minimal)
WAICO positions itself as a distinct, UN-Charter-anchored governance track outside the OECD/G7/EU architecture, with a membership base drawn largely from outside the G7 — raising the prospect of a bifurcated global AI governance landscape with competing rule-sets.
Precedent — China-Led Parallel Multilateral Institutions
WAICO follows a pattern China has used before: building new multilateral institutions headquartered in China as an alternative track to Western-anchored bodies, rather than seeking reform from within existing ones. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), headquartered in Beijing, began operations in January 2016 as an alternative infrastructure-financing channel alongside the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The New Development Bank (NDB), headquartered in Shanghai, was established in July 2015 by the BRICS countries as an alternative development-finance institution.
Key Details
- AIIB: agreement signed 2015, began operations January 2016, headquartered in Beijing, around 100-plus members as of recent years
- NDB: established July 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, headquartered in Shanghai
- WAICO extends this template into AI governance: Shanghai-headquartered, with founding membership drawn substantially from BRICS/SCO-aligned and Global South states
The creation of WAICO mirrors the AIIB/NDB precedent of parallel institution-building, applied for the first time to the domain of AI governance rather than development finance.
India's Position in Global AI Governance
India has pursued its own, distinct track rather than joining either the US-aligned or China-led blocs at their outset. It hosted the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi (16-21 February 2026), the first edition of the rotating AI summit series (after Bletchley, Seoul and Paris) to be held in the Global South, organised around three "Sutras" — People, Planet, Progress — and thematic "Chakras," emphasising AI-for-development and "AI sovereignty" over frontier-risk regulation alone. India signed the 2023 Bletchley Declaration but is not among WAICO's 29 founding members.
Key Details
- India AI Impact Summit 2026: held 16-21 February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi; first Global-South-hosted edition of the summit series
- India's framing centres on three "Sutras" (People, Planet, Progress) and operational "Chakras," prioritising deployment and inclusion over risk-only regulation
- India was a signatory to the Bletchley Declaration (2023) alongside the US, China and the EU
- India is not listed among WAICO's 29 founding members
The emergence of a China-led AI governance bloc, alongside US/G7-anchored processes, the binding EU AI Act, and an India-hosted development-oriented track, illustrates the fragmentation of global AI governance into competing poles — a live theme for India's strategic-autonomy positioning in technology diplomacy.
- WAICO founding members: 29 nations, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Laos
- WAICO headquarters: Shanghai; launched around the 2026 World AI Conference (mid-July 2026)
- No G7 country (US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Canada) or Australia joined WAICO at launch
- OECD AI Principles: 2019; G7 Hiroshima AI Process: launched May 2023; Bletchley Declaration: November 2023, 28 signatories
- AIIB: operations began January 2016, HQ Beijing; NDB: established July 2015, HQ Shanghai
- India AI Impact Summit 2026: New Delhi, 16-21 February 2026, first Global-South-hosted edition of the summit series