Twenty-nine countries signed an agreement in Shanghai to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, setting up a new intergovernmental platform intended to coordinate international work on artificial intelligence. The agreement places the organization's headquarters in Shanghai and gives it the form of an independent international body.
The signing took place with representatives from the founding countries present, including Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed the agreement on behalf of China, giving the initiative a senior diplomatic profile within Beijing's external engagement on emerging technologies.
The organization, referred to as WAICO, is framed as a venue for cooperation rather than a technical standards body alone. Its stated purpose is to promote international cooperation and global governance on artificial intelligence, with the broader aim of supporting AI development that is beneficial, safe and fair.
The agreement links the new body to the purposes of the United Nations Charter and says it will follow principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefit. That language places the initiative within a multilateral vocabulary often used to present technology governance as a common development issue rather than only a matter of national regulation or commercial competition.
The presence of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres among representatives from countries and international organizations gave the ceremony an additional global governance dimension. The article does not describe any formal UN role in the organization, but his attendance underscored the broader international setting in which AI governance is being debated.
The list of founding members mentioned in the report points to a coalition that includes Asian and Eurasian partners, with China positioning Shanghai as an institutional hub for AI diplomacy. The choice of headquarters gives the city a visible role in the emerging architecture of international AI cooperation.
The agreement's emphasis on people-centered development and orderly growth reflects growing concerns about how rapidly AI systems are being deployed across economies, public services and security-related fields. By highlighting benefit, safety and fairness together, the new organization is presented as a framework for balancing innovation with governance.
The launch adds another institutional layer to the global debate over who shapes AI rules, how cross-border cooperation is organized and how developing and emerging economies participate in the sector's governance. Its practical weight will depend on how the founding members define its programs, membership expansion, policy agenda and coordination with existing international forums.
