Introduction
At present, global AI governance is entering a new stage of institution-building. The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance produced several major outcomes. Particularly noteworthy is the formal announcement of the establishment of the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO). China also opened 5,000 AI-themed training slots to developing countries in support of inclusive and universally beneficial development of global AI. What gaps in the existing global governance system will WAICO fill? What global value does AI capacity building for developing countries have? Against the backdrop of continued intensification of China-U.S. strategic competition, is there room for bilateral collaboration within the WAICO framework? In this episode,SinoAI Insightstakes the series of outcomes of the WAIC as its entry point to interpret China’s thinking on global AI governance, analyze WAICO’s global positioning, and explore pathways for global AI security governance and feasible options for multilateral cooperation amid intensifying strategic competition among major powers.
Moderator
Xiao Qian
Deputy Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS), Tsinghua University
Guests
Yao Xu
Secretary-General of the Center for Global AI Innovative Governance and Associate Professor at the Development Institute, Fudan University
Chen Shu
Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at the University of Hong Kong, and former Meta (Facebook) Head of Public Policy for Greater China, Mongolia, and Central Asia
What you will hear
03:12 Core changes and three key words of WAIC 2026
06:40 WAIC: Upgrading from a technology expo to a multilateral collaboration platform for global AI governance
10:15 Why AI capacity building for developing countries matters
19:30 The background of WAICO’s birth and how it differs from existing international AI governance mechanisms
24:15 How global industry and regional governance bodies view WAICO
28:50 The internal logic and international interpretations of China’s strengthened AI security agenda
33:10 WAICO from the U.S. perspective: a vehicle for geopolitical rivalry or a multilateral public good?
38:45 Possibilities for pragmatic China-U.S. cooperation under the WAICO framework
43:20 How WAIC and WAICO are reshaping China’s role in global AI governance
47:10 Core issues in global AI governance to watch over the next year
Original Link: https://ciss.tsinghua.edu.cn/info/new_sinoai/3296000027491?sessionid=
