China has launched a new global body to shape international AI cooperation and rules, and 29 countries have already grown to 38 members within a month. The World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) stands opposite a separate American-led coalition, Pax Silica, drawing a rough line between countries aligning with China and those aligning with the United States on AI governance and cooperation. India sided with the United States and joined Pax Silica earlier this year, and is the only BRICS country to not be a part of WAICO. It will now navigate this divide as it hosts the BRICS Summit next month, an event where AI is on the agenda.
What Is Changing?
In July, China launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO), an inter-governmental body focused on international AI cooperation and regulation. Twenty-nine countries signed on as founding members, including Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Serbia and Cuba. WAICO’s membership has already expanded since its July launch, growing to 38 members.
India, which joined US-led multilateral coalition Pax Silica in February 2026, is not a WAICO member, the only BRICS country absent from it. Other countries absent from WAICO include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the European Union, which are all members of the Pax Silica coalition instead.
Why Does It Matter?
Between them, WAICO and Pax Silica now represent two largely separate camps of countries aligning with either China or the United States on AI, with almost no overlap in membership. Both blocs have framed their mission around preventing any single country from dominating AI, without naming the other directly.
WAICO’s stated goal is to advance “AI for good and for all”. China has committed to 5,000 AI training and seminar opportunities for developing countries over the next five years, and to setting up joint AI cooperation centres with regional blocs including ASEAN, the African Union and BRICS. Chinese President Xi Jinping described WAICO as “an important milestone in the history of AI development”, calling it “a major move by China to answer the call of the Global South and unite the international community together to promote vigorously AI development and governance”.
Pax Silica, the US-led coalition established in December 2025, aims to align partners to “build the AI ecosystem of tomorrow—from energy and critical minerals to high-end manufacturing and models.” Jacob Helberg, the US Under Secretary of State who leads the initiative, has compared its intended role to the G7, calling it poised to become “indispensable to the artificial intelligence age.”
What Happens Next?
As AI develops faster than policy can keep pace, control over its governance and infrastructure is emerging as the next front in global tech competition. Enterprise and governance standards for AI are expected to diverge as WAICO develops its own rules on model safety, data governance and cross-border AI deployment. However, some analysts argue the global AI order is unlikely to split cleanly into two rival blocs, as most countries engage with both ecosystems, weighing technology access against dependence, governance standards and policy autonomy.
What Should India Do?
India formally joined Pax Silica in February 2026, positioning itself within the US-led bloc rather than WAICO. It will host the BRICS Summit next month, with AI listed as a priority under the Innovation pillar of its Chairship theme. Most of India’s BRICS partners have already joined WAICO, and what that means for India’s standing in the bloc’s AI discussions remains to be seen.
***
Source Note:
This article is based on official information from the US State Department on Pax Silica and China’s State Council Information Office on WAICO. Additional context on WAICO’s membership, ambitions and the emerging AI geopolitical divide was drawn from reporting by Al Jazeera, South China Morning Post and The Hindu, as well as analysis from ORF and BowerGroupAsia.
Editorial Disclosure:
AI-assisted tools were used to help summarise and organise information from the source reports and to support language and copy-editing.