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China Launches WAICO and Pushes Open AI Offerings at Shanghai Conference

The new Shanghai‑based World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization signals Beijing's bid to lead inclusive AI capacity building and standards setting.

Overview

  • Representatives from 29 countries signed an agreement creating the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, which was formalized during the World AI Conference in Shanghai on July 17.
  • President Xi Jinping pledged 5,000 AI training and research slots over five years, announced cooperation centers for regional blocs and promised access for 30 countries to a Chinese AI meteorological early‑warning tool.
  • Chinese firms unveiled major open‑weight models such as Moonshot’s Kimi K3 and Z.ai’s GLM‑5.2 and Huawei showed a large compute system, showing faster domestic progress in models and hardware.
  • UN Secretary‑General António Guterres backed inclusive, multilateral capacity building, announced a UN Global Network for AI capacity exchange and said he will propose recommendations for a Global Fund for AI.
  • Analysts say the key test is delivery: observers warn the initiative must convert pledges into measurable training, infrastructure and tech transfers and note Beijing may still restrict overseas access to some advanced models, sharpening U.S.–China competition.