World AI Cooperation Organization Launches With 29 Nations

The World AI Cooperation Organization launched this week as 29 nations signed its founding agreement in Shanghai. The new body gives China a central role in global AI governance.

Founding members include Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Laos. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed for Beijing. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the ceremony.

What the World AI Cooperation Organization aims to do

The group will sit as an intergovernmental body headquartered in Shanghai. It promises “safe, fair and beneficial” AI for all. It cites the UN Charter as its guide.

The launch closed a four-day World AI Conference. Xi Jinping delivered his first keynote to the event. Organisers pitched a “people-centred” approach to the technology.

The timing is pointed. The United States and its closest allies did not join. Washington has favoured its own coalitions on AI rules.

Supporters say the world needs shared standards. AI now touches health, weapons and public information. Fragmented rules leave dangerous gaps.

Critics raise harder questions. Several founding states restrict speech and surveil citizens. They ask whose values will shape “people-centred” AI.

The body has no binding enforcement yet. Its early work will focus on access and capacity building. Poorer nations want a real seat at the table.

The move also reflects a widening tech split. Two rival blocs are forming around AI. Developing countries may gain leverage between them.

Free Thought Daily has reported on mounting alarm over the technology, including a UN panel’s warning of catastrophic harm.

Fact basis: reporting from Global Times, Xinhua, Fast Company and PYMNTS, 16-20 July 2026.