In a bold bid for tech leadership, President Xi Jinping unveiled a new global AI governance initiative aimed at the developing world. By launching the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) in Shanghai, Beijing positions itself as the main alternative to Western-led tech hegemony.

The Launch of WAICO and China’s Grand Ambitions

On July 17, 2026, at a Shanghai summit, Xi announced the formation of WAICO. Twenty-nine nations—mostly from Asia, Africa and Latin America—joined the effort to reshape AI governance and deployment worldwide. China will back the plan with concrete resources: over the next five years it will fund 5,000 AI training slots and seminar programs for developing nations.

Beijing also plans joint AI application centres with regional blocs such as ASEAN, the African Union, the League of Arab States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This infrastructure-heavy strategy weaves Chinese AI standards into the fabric of the Global South’s digital economy.

Countering Western Models and "Ideological Infiltration"

WAICO reflects Beijing’s drive to pull the Global South away from Western tech. Chinese officials warned that reliance on platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude poses security risks. Xi warned that nations should not let "one country’s security" dominate others, a thinly-veiled jab at Washington’s grip on high-end semiconductors and AI.

China also frames the push as a defense against "ideological infiltration" by Western AI, which it says threatens national sovereignty. By championing open-source models—exemplified by Moonshot’s powerful Kimi K3—China offers a more accessible, culturally neutral alternative to Silicon Valley’s proprietary systems.

A Fragmented Multilateral Landscape

WAICO’s membership list reads like a geopolitical map: Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela. India sent a Joint Secretary-level delegation to the Shanghai summit but did not join the founding group, leaving New Delhi with a diplomatic puzzle. China now tries to embed WAICO within existing bodies such as BRICS and the SCO, where India holds sway.

What It Means for India

  • Strategic Autonomy in Tech: India must walk a "third way"—avoid dependence on Western proprietary models while steering clear of a China-centric AI ecosystem that could erode its autonomy.
  • Competitive Digital Diplomacy: As China wields AI training and cooperation centres as soft-power tools, India needs to boost its own capacity-building programs to stay the preferred partner for the Global South.
  • Multilateral Balancing Act: India must keep its influence alive in BRICS and the SCO, ensuring those platforms do not become vehicles for a China-led AI standard that sidelines Indian interests.