Twenty-nine countries have signed an agreement to establish the World AI Cooperation Organization, a new intergovernmental body backed by China as Beijing seeks a larger role in shaping global artificial intelligence rules.
Founding Members Include Russia, Brazil and Asian, African Countries
The founding group includes countries from multiple regions, though the early membership also shows China’s effort to bring together states outside the traditional Western-led AI governance bloc.
Reuters reported that representatives from Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Brazil and Venezuela signed the agreement as founding members, along with 10 African and 12 Asian countries.
Shanghai Becomes the Organization’s Base
The new body will be headquartered in China’s financial and technology hub. The organization’s headquarters will be located in Shanghai, citing Chinese state agency Xinhua.
The Economic Times also reported that the World AI Cooperation Organization will be located in Shanghai.
Shanghai’s role is important because the city is already the host of China’s major AI diplomacy stage. The signing ceremony was held in Shanghai on the eve of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference.
Xi Expected to Outline Beijing’s AI Governance Vision
The timing places the agreement directly beside China’s wider global AI agenda. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to outline an ambitious vision for Beijing’s role in global AI governance at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.
U.S. News shared that as part of China’s effort to establish a global AI cooperation body at a time when countries are debating how AI should be governed internationally.
The development also gives China a formal structure to support its call for broader participation in AI governance. China proposed creating a World AI Cooperation Organization at last year’s conference, but no countries had formally announced membership until now.
AI Governance Becomes a Geopolitical Contest
The new organization comes as governments compete to influence global AI standards, safety rules and access to advanced technology. China is presenting the World AI Cooperation Organization as a platform for international cooperation, but the membership list also signals a geopolitical message: Beijing wants developing countries and non-Western partners to have a larger place in AI rulemaking.
For China, the group could strengthen its diplomatic position as artificial intelligence becomes a major arena for economic power, national security and technological influence. For the rest of the world, the agreement raises a larger question: whether global AI governance will move toward shared international rules or split into rival systems shaped by competing powers.
