Chinese President Xi Jinping today announced the formal creation of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) during his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai.
Twenty-nine countries have signed the Shanghai accord as founding members of the new intergovernmental body, which will be headquartered in Shanghai. Founding members include China, Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia, and Indonesia, among others.
"AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation," Xi told the assembled global leaders and tech executives.
In a pointed message that appeared to reference US export controls on advanced AI chips, Xi called on nations to "jointly oppose overstretching the national security concept in the field of AI and placing one country's security over that of others."
The Chinese leader emphasized that WAICO represents a major step by China to "answer the call of the Global South" and unite the international community around AI development and governance. He described the organization's founding as "an important milestone in the history of AI development."
Xi also announced that China will provide 5,000 AI training opportunities for developing countries over the next five years and develop international AI application cooperation centers with ASEAN, the Arab League, the African Union, and other regional blocs.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.
The four-day conference, themed "AI Partnership for a Brighter Future," features more than 140 forums with 1,400 guests from around the world. China's core AI industries were worth over 1.2 trillion yuan (about $176.6 billion) in 2025, with more than 6,200 AI enterprises nationwide.
