China Launches WAICO AI-Governance Bloc as Xi Opens WAIC 2026 With Open-Source Push

Al Jazeera·high signal

At the opening of Shanghai's World AI Conference (July 17–20), Xi Jinping delivered the keynote and urged nations to seize the 'historic opportunity' of open-source AI and ensure equitable access for developing countries. A day earlier, 29 founding countries — including Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, and South Africa — signed to establish the Shanghai-headquartered World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO). The move erects a second institutional framework for AI governance to rival the Washington/Brussels/G7 axis.