# China builds a 29-nation AI bloc that leaves Washington out

> China launched a 29-country AI governance body, WAICO, snubbed by Western democracies.

*Beijing's new World AI Cooperation Organization courts the Global South as chip export curbs harden the US-China divide.*

By Bez · InsidersFeed
Canonical: https://insidersfeed.com/news/china-builds-a-29-nation-ai-bloc-that-leaves-washington-out

China has stood up a rival to Western-led AI governance, and it is betting the Global South will follow. On 16 July 2026, 29 countries signed an agreement in Shanghai establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a Shanghai-headquartered body meant to set international AI rules. The United States is absent, and so is every major Western democracy.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed for China, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in attendance, lending the launch institutional weight beyond Beijing's own backing. Premier Li Qiang first floated the idea in July 2025; a year later it has a charter and founding members including Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, Senegal, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Laos.

The following day, President Xi Jinping addressed the World Artificial Intelligence Conference for the first time in its nine-year run, calling WAICO "an important milestone" and pledging 5,000 AI training places for developing countries — a direct play for goodwill, and votes, among nations outside the US orbit. He said, "AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation."

The conference itself doubled as a showcase of China's hardware ambitions: Huawei unveiled its 8,192-chip Atlas 950 supercomputer, and more than 300 AI products launched on the show floor. That display lands weeks after Washington widened semiconductor export restrictions on Chinese firms in May 2026, the latest tightening of the chip supply lines China needs.

Analysts cited by [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/chinas-xi-jinping-launches-new-ai-alliance-what-is-it) say Beijing will use WAICO to push its state-led AI governance model onto Global South countries, whose votes carry weight at the UN and other multilateral bodies. [Xinhua's account of the signing](https://english.news.cn/20260716/2d364f232dd7456c8edf1d67d5125d37/c.html) frames WAICO as an independent intergovernmental organisation, not a Chinese subsidiary — a distinction Beijing needs if it wants neutral countries to join without appearing to pick a side.

## The Insider view

The membership list tells the real story: resource-rich, non-aligned states rather than US treaty allies. That is a market China can win on price, training access and infrastructure diplomacy rather than compute supremacy, especially while export controls squeeze its chip access. For founders and investors, the signal is a widening regulatory fork — compliance regimes built around WAICO norms could diverge sharply from US and EU frameworks, raising the cost of selling AI systems into both blocs at once. Watch whether middle powers now courted by both sides, and whether the training-place pledge converts into commercial dependency on Chinese cloud and chip stacks.

## Key takeaways

- 29 countries signed up to WAICO in Shanghai; no US or major Western democracy joined
- China pledges 5,000 AI training places for developing nations to lock in support
- Move follows US chip export curbs, deepening a split into rival AI governance blocs

## Sources

- [China's Xi Jinping launches new AI alliance: What is it?](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/chinas-xi-jinping-launches-new-ai-alliance-what-is-it) — Al Jazeera, 2026-07-17
- [29 countries sign agreement on establishing World AI Cooperation Organization](https://english.news.cn/20260716/2d364f232dd7456c8edf1d67d5125d37/c.html) — Xinhua, 2026-07-16