As AI innovation increasingly concentrates in the USA and China, the development of AI blocs around these two nations was always likely. With the launch of the China-led World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), of which 29 nations are already signatories, the emergence of such blocs is now even more plausible. Through this cooperation, China is actively presenting itself not only as an alternative source of frontier technology but also as a contender for global AI leadership. Many developing nations with limited AI capacity may soon flock to China. However, for nations like India, which are yet to develop sovereign AI capabilities and are wary of technological dependency, the situation could soon become a conundrum.
On 17th July, at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, President Xi Jinping urged countries to cooperate on AI while emphasizing that no single country should dominate the technology. He also noted that China has played a key role in ensuring equitable access to AI capacity-building for developing countries through its open-source models. China’s creation of WAICO, with its stated purpose of promoting international cooperation and developing AI regulation, will most likely be leveraged to influence international AI governance.
