The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) is an independent intergovernmental international organization, located in Shanghai, according to China’s State Council. On July 16th, 2026, twenty-nine countries signed an agreement in Shanghai at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference including Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, Senegal, Russia and Pakistan (Al Jazeera). 

According to Al Jazeera, Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China, spoke at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, and called on countries to embrace the “historic opportunity” provided by open-source AI. Xi stated that China has played a role in ensuring equitable access to AI capacity-building for developing countries to prevent the creation of “new historical injustices” and announced Beijing’s plans to continue cooperating with countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia.

“AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation,” Xi stated, according to Al Jazeera. “We should jointly oppose overstretching the national security concept in the field of AI or placing one country’s security over that of others.” The development of artificial intelligence has been rampant; its introduction and implementation have been extremely divisive. Countries have so far struggled to match AI regulation with its rapid growth. Concerns over AI’s use in areas such as military combat are prompting some of the most intense governance debates. China is becoming the face of AI international cooperation. 

However, China is not monopolizing AI. The United States and China are beginning to engage in an AI-race: a Chip War. Both countries are advanced in AI development and have access to its required building materials. According to Al Jazeera, while China does not have the United States’ semiconductors, the country has more data centers to train AI models and access to rare minerals needed to build the data centers. In May 2026, the Department of Commerce affirmed restrictions on shipments of critical semiconductors to subsidiaries of Chinese companies that are headquartered or have a parent company in China. Beijing retaliated by barring exports of dual-use technology and critical minerals to U.S. firms. 

The restrictions that China and the United States have placed on each other to halt the other’s AI development should arguably be considered a benefit of the Chip War, as AI needs more oversight and regulation. The WAICO alliance is necessary for AI progression, and instead of halting China, the United States should consider a similar approach for the safety of the nation.