Xi lays out full AI governance plan at WAIC — 29 countries sign Shanghai-based WAICO pact
TL;DR
Xi set out an AI governance plan at WAIC; a day earlier, 29 countries signed the Shanghai-based WAICO agreement.
Xi Jinping used the July 17 WAIC opening in Shanghai to set out a full AI governance program. He called for open-source development, human control over AI and monitoring, early-warning and emergency-response systems to stop autonomous systems from escaping oversight.
A day earlier, representatives of 29 countries signed an agreement establishing WAICO in Shanghai. China's published account describes the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization as an independent intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Shanghai. It names Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia as examples of founding members, but does not provide the complete 29-country list or agreement text. UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended; the UN was not identified as a signatory.
Xi pledged 5,000 AI training and seminar places for developing countries over five years and access for 30 countries to China's MAZU AI weather-warning system. He said AI should not be a single country's “solo performance,” but a “symphony” of international cooperation.
Reuters and AP separately confirmed the speech and 29-country agreement. Chinese technology models including DeepSeek and Moonshot's Kimi competed for attention around the conference; WAICO's legal terms remain limited to the signed agreement and details released by Chinese authorities.
via AP / Reuters / Xinhua speech transcript / Chinese government
A day earlier, representatives of 29 countries signed an agreement establishing WAICO in Shanghai. China's published account describes the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization as an independent intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Shanghai. It names Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia as examples of founding members, but does not provide the complete 29-country list or agreement text. UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended; the UN was not identified as a signatory.
Xi pledged 5,000 AI training and seminar places for developing countries over five years and access for 30 countries to China's MAZU AI weather-warning system. He said AI should not be a single country's “solo performance,” but a “symphony” of international cooperation.
Reuters and AP separately confirmed the speech and 29-country agreement. Chinese technology models including DeepSeek and Moonshot's Kimi competed for attention around the conference; WAICO's legal terms remain limited to the signed agreement and details released by Chinese authorities.
via AP / Reuters / Xinhua speech transcript / Chinese government
