WAICO Launched: China's 29-Nation AI Alliance Reshapes the Global AI Governance Landscape

中国发起WAICO：29国人工智能联盟重塑全球AI治理格局

On July 16, 2026, 29 countries signed the Shanghai Accord to formally establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO), a China-led multilateral platform that analysts describe as a "Digital Belt and Road" for the AI era. Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the initiative, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and deputy prime ministers from Kazakhstan, Laos and Pakistan attending the launch ceremony.

2026年7月16日，29个国家在上海签署协议，正式成立世界人工智能合作组织（WAICO）。这一由中国主导的多边平台被分析人士称为AI时代的"数字一带一路"。中国国家主席习近平宣布这一倡议，联合国秘书长古特雷斯及哈萨克斯坦、老挝、巴基斯坦副总理出席启动仪式。

WAICO's founding members span the Global South, including Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, Senegal, Russia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Myanmar and Kazakhstan. Headquartered in Shanghai, the organization is positioned as a "people-centered" alternative to the US-led Pax Silica framework, which focuses on securing the AI supply chain among trusted partners including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines.

WAICO的创始成员涵盖全球南方国家，包括印度尼西亚、巴西、马来西亚、南非、塞内加尔、俄罗斯、巴基斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦、缅甸和哈萨克斯坦。该组织总部设在上海，定位为"以人为本"的多边框架，与美国主导的Pax Silica形成对比——后者致力于在日韩、新加坡、菲律宾等可信伙伴之间构建安全AI供应链。

Unlike Pax Silica's emphasis on semiconductor controls and trusted supply chains, WAICO focuses on open-source AI models, affordable applications, workforce training and infrastructure development across the developing world. According to Shinan Hao of Shanghai International Studies University, "As developing countries adopt Chinese AI models, infrastructure and technical standards, their economic and technological links with China are likely to deepen."

与Pax Silica侧重半导体管控和安全供应链不同，WAICO聚焦于开源AI模型、低成本应用、人才培训和基础设施发展。上海外国语大学国际关系学者郝诗楠指出："随着发展中国家采用中国的人工智能模型、基础设施和技术标准，它们与中国的经济技术联系可能会进一步加深。"

The initiative has already begun operational work. A China-ASEAN AI Cooperation Center is linking Chinese technology with regional needs in healthcare, transport, agriculture and public administration across Southeast Asia. WAICO provides the institutional backbone to scale such projects into a network that combines technology transfer, standards-setting, training programs and governance cooperation.

该倡议已开始运作。中国-东盟AI合作中心正在将中国技术与东南亚区域的医疗、交通、农业和公共管理需求对接。WAICO为此类项目提供了制度化的支撑框架，将其扩展为融合技术转移、标准制定、人才培训和治理合作的网络。

However, observers warn that WAICO may intensify geopolitical fragmentation in AI governance. "Western countries may view Chinese participation as an attempt to export its standards or create competing technological spheres," Hao noted, adding that developing countries could face pressure to "choose between rival systems." Tsinghua University's Xue Lan offered a contrasting view, stating that AI capacity-building for developing countries should not be viewed solely through a "geopolitical lens" and that China would welcome US cooperation in such efforts.

然而，观察人士警告，WAICO可能加剧AI治理的地缘政治分裂。郝诗楠指出"西方国家可能将中国的参与视为试图输出其标准或创建竞争性技术阵营"，发展中国家可能面临"在不同体系之间选边"的压力。清华大学苏世民书院院长薛澜则持不同观点，认为对发展中国家AI能力建设不应仅从"地缘政治视角"审视，中国也欢迎美国加入相关合作。

With US$79 billion in Digital Silk Road investments already deployed as of 2018, WAICO represents a strategic pivot from physical infrastructure to knowledge-intensive digital cooperation — a new phase of the Belt and Road Initiative that could prove far more consequential than the roads, ports and railways that preceded it.

鉴于截至2018年数字丝绸之路投资已达790亿美元，WAICO代表了从物理基础设施到知识密集型数字合作的战略转型——这是一带一路倡议的新阶段，可能比此前的公路、港口和铁路产生更加深远的影响。