On July 16, the Signing Ceremony of the Agreement on the Establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) was held in Shanghai. Representatives from 29 countries, including Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia, signed the agreement as founding members.

This is a major move by China to answer the call of the Global South and unite the international community to vigorously promote AI development and governance. It will be a crucial milestone in the history of AI development.

This major move also reflects China's evolving role in global sci-tech governance. No longer merely a passive follower of international rules, China is drawing on its innovation capacity and effective governance to play an increasingly active role in shaping international sci-tech rules.

China is now among the world's leaders in the emerging field of AI. From the perspective of technological strength, China tops the world in the number of AI patent applications and research publications, while downloads of its large models also rank first globally.

On the industrial front, the scale of China's core AI industry in 2025 exceeded 1.2 trillion RMB. In terms of AI governance, China continues to promote technology for good through a gradual approach featuring "small but rapid steps."

As a global AI leader, China has continued to deepen and broaden its engagement in global AI governance. It has put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative, the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All and the AI+ International Cooperation Initiative.

It has continuously contributed Chinese solutions to global development in the intelligent era with concrete actions. The establishment of WAICO signifies that China has moved beyond advocating ideas to building platforms and strengthening institutional mechanisms, marking a new stage in its contribution to global AI governance.

This major move carries far-reaching implications for global AI governance. While AI offers unprecedented opportunities, it also poses unprecedented risks and challenges. Yet, despite the increasingly urgent need for international cooperation, global AI governance remains fragmented.

It is particularly noteworthy that the Global South countries are underrepresented in the current global AI governance framework. According to a 2024 report by the UN High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence, 118 countries—primarily in the Global South—are parties to none of the seven sampled, prominent non-UN AI governance initiatives.

Existing AI governance frameworks have largely been shaped around the needs of developed countries and have done little to address issues of concern to the Global South, such as the AI divide and inclusive technology transfer.

From this perspective, the establishment of WAICO is a milestone that fills a critical gap and resets the coordinates of global AI governance. By establishing an open platform that transcends ideological divides and technological barriers, it will help ensure that Global South countries can benefit equally from the wave of intelligent innovation.

From the open-sourcing of large models like DeepSeek, to China's support for the construction of a supercomputer center in Zimbabwe and the application of MAZU, an AI-powered meteorological warning system, in more than 40 countries, Chinese solutions are now helping the Global South countries bridge the technology gap. The establishment of WAICO will further provide an institutional platform for Chinese technologies to empower the Global South.

AI is not the preserve of a select few, nor should its global governance be shaped by a handful of countries. By establishing an inclusive governance model that involves multiple stakeholders, WAICO will open a new door.