China unveils a new paradigm for AI inclusivity in the Global South

The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance kicked off on Friday with a defining milestone: the formal establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO).

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi signed the founding agreement on behalf of China, joined by representatives from 29 nations, including Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, and Russia. With this signing, WAICO officially transitions from a visionary concept into an independent intergovernmental organization, marking a substantive leap forward in multilateral global AI governance.

The agreement mandates WAICO to foster international cooperation and ensure that AI develops in a healthy, orderly, beneficial, safe, and fair manner. This is far more than a scattered collection of policy statements; it represents a systematic solution from China to the Global South to bridge the AI development gap, which is a true new paradigm for inclusive progress.

In the AI era, the most critical resource may not be algorithms or data, but computing power. Yet, a stark imbalance persists: about 80 percent of the world's high-end intelligent computing power is concentrated in North America and East Asia, while Africa and Latin America account for less than 5 percent. Even more alarming, repeated rounds of tightened export controls and exclusionary technology alliances are erecting successive barriers. High-end chips and advanced algorithms are being weaponized as geopolitical bargaining chips, causing the intelligent compute gap between the Global North and South to not just widen, but solidify.

Traditional models of digital aid are mired in a triple dilemma. First is the suspension dilemma: regulatory frameworks like the European Union's AI Act, though comprehensive, are tailored for developed economies and prove incompatible when applied to the Global South. Second is the fragmentation dilemma: cross-border tech cooperation is often short-term and lacks permanent institutions or stable funding, making it vulnerable to the slightest geopolitical shifts. Third is the agency dilemma: rooted in a hierarchical center-periphery structure, this model forces developing nations to passively accept solutions, stifling their ability to cultivate indigenous capabilities.

The technology divide is not a matter of fate, but of choice. The governance paradigm we choose will determine who gets to share the dividends of technological progress.

A new paradigm: The three-pronged approach

To break these dead ends, China has drawn upon over a decade of transnational practices under the Digital Silk Road to construct a three-pronged inclusive development system — energy, industrial internet and AI public goods. Green energy serves as the foundational base, the industrial internet acts as the physical carrier, and AI public goods provide institutional safeguards. These three layers support and empower each other in a continuous cycle.

Acting as the foundation by clearing digital obstacles at the source, stable, low-cost electricity is the prerequisite for any intelligent application. The Mirny Wind Power Project in Kazakhstan is a prime example: following the commissioning of this 1GW wind power project equipped with supporting energy storage, power expenses for local heavy industrial bases will be markedly reduced. Once the floodgates of energy pricing were opened, digital applications, such as cross-border industrial clouds and intelligent mineral sorting systems, truly moved from blueprints to production lines.

Simultaneously, the paradigm focuses on industrial self-sustainability to transform energy advantages into development momentum. Energy advantages do not automatically translate into development momentum; they must take root through industrial integration, with the industrial internet serving as the key vehicle for this transformation. The Foxconn Industrial Internet cross-border lighthouse factory in Vietnam has charted a sustainable, market-oriented path. Leveraging a stable supply of cross-border green power and a cross-border industrial synergy platform, the factory has completed a full-line digital upgrade, driving the refinement of the local electronics supply chain. In turn, the tax revenue and employment generated by this industrial growth have supported the expansion of the second phase of the photovoltaic project. Requiring no long-term external subsidies, this model has established a self-reinforcing positive cycle of "energy supply — industrial value addition — energy capacity expansion".

Finally, by calibrating public goods to direct tech dividends to the people, China has committed to being a provider of international public goods in AI. Since proposing the Global Initiative on AI Governance, China has facilitated the UN General Assembly's consensus adoption of a resolution on AI capacity building, released the Inclusive Plan for AI Capacity Building and the International Cooperation Initiative on "AI Plus", and championed the establishment of WAICO. Looking ahead, China has unveiled concrete commitments: over the next five years, it will provide 5,000 specialized AI training slots for developing countries; establish international AI application cooperation centers for ASEAN, the Arab League, the African Union, CELAC, the SCO, and BRICS nations; and promote the deployment of the MAZU intelligent meteorological early warning system in 30 countries. These are not empty slogans, but a tangible, verifiable list of public goods ready to safeguard communities and ensure peace across the seas.

Bridging the divide and preventing new historical injustices

The Digital Silk Road provides the institutional backbone for this inclusive paradigm. From hard connectivity centered on cross-border optical cables and overseas data centers, to soft connectivity that expands cross-border e-commerce and mobile payments, and now to institutional connectivity focused on long-term cooperation rules, every step has been firmly grounded in tangible action.

Currently, this three-pronged inclusive paradigm has already taken root in Central and Southeast Asia, yielding a batch of mature practical cases. Yet, this is merely a starting point, not the finish line. Looking ahead, we must broaden international cooperation to genuinely help Global South countries strengthen their capacity building. Only by bridging the digital-intelligence divide and promoting sustainable development can we firmly prevent new historical injustices from occurring in the era of artificial intelligence.

The author is a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. 

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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