Two weeks after Shanghai wrapped up the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, China’s top envoy to the United Nations has reaffirmed the global body’s central role as the leading platform for international collaboration on shaping the future of artificial intelligence governance.
Speaking at a briefing hosted by China’s UN mission at UN headquarters on Friday, Ambassador Fu Cong outlined China’s commitment to working with all nations through the UN framework, guided by core principles of openness, open-source collaboration, and inclusive mutual benefit. Fu emphasized that the landmark Shanghai gathering was far more than just a forum for dialogue—it created new pathways to break down barriers and enable the free global flow of AI-focused innovation resources.
“Above all, the conference centered on the defining question of our era: how can we steer AI development to deliver shared prosperity and benefit for every person across the world?” Fu told attendees drawn from more than 70 countries and international organizations. He detailed the vision for global AI governance laid out by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which rests on four key pillars: driving innovation-led growth, upholding human oversight and AI security, fostering cross-civilizational exchange and learning, and strengthening inclusive multilateral governance frameworks.
A signature outcome of the Shanghai conference was the launch of the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), the world’s first intergovernmental international body dedicated exclusively to advancing AI collaboration. Fu described the new entity as a tangible response to growing calls from Global South nations for more equitable AI development, and a critical milestone in uniting countries around shared goals for inclusive progress and coordinated governance.
To date, 29 countries have signed WAICO’s founding convention, and Fu stressed that the organization remains open to all nations seeking to participate. He clarified that WAICO is structured to complement, rather than compete with, existing UN efforts in AI governance, with a core focus on expanding global capacity building, facilitating policy dialogue, advancing technical cooperation, and scaling responsible AI applications.
“China is fully prepared to deepen policy coordination, institutional partnership, and on-the-ground collaboration with the United Nations, and to support the UN in expanding its central role in global AI governance,” Fu added. “We view the UN as the primary channel and core platform for multilateral AI governance worldwide.”
Addressing questions around AI regulation, Fu noted that governments face a critical balancing act between nurturing innovation and mitigating emerging risks. “Overly restrictive regulation will suffocate creative progress,” he explained, “but turning a blind eye and letting unregulated development run wild exposes entire societies to the inherent dangers of ungoverned AI.”
Amandeep Gill, UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ envoy on technology, joined the briefing and praised the Shanghai conference as a transformative step forward for global AI cooperation. Gill noted that the event set a new standard for international collaboration by placing capacity building for developing nations at the top of the global AI agenda, a shift he described as “qualitatively different” from previous gatherings. He echoed Fu’s affirmation of the UN’s central role, noting that Guterres has prioritized advancing AI capacity, safety and sustainability globally, and that all complementary international initiatives should center the UN as the inclusive, multilateral home for global AI governance.
Representatives from across every inhabited continent weighed in at the briefing, with many highlighting the unique barriers that Global South nations face in accessing AI opportunity. Moses Jere, counselor and cyber-digital expert with Zambia’s UN mission, noted that limited access to computing infrastructure is the single biggest bottleneck holding back AI progress across most African nations – not a lack of ambition or local technical talent.
“African nations have the drive and the people to lead in AI, but we lack the foundational computing infrastructure, high-quality datasets, and harmonized standards we need to compete,” Jere explained. “The commitments made in Shanghai to expand access to these critical resources and develop inclusive AI standards are genuinely transformative for our region.”
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, called the launch of WAICO both timely and consequential, saying the new body fills a critical gap by giving Global South nations a dedicated platform to build their domestic AI capacity and advance shared development. Ahmad stressed that developing countries need more than just access to finished AI products built in wealthy nations – they need support to build their own AI ecosystems, including access to data, computing capacity, open models, development tools, and sustained technical assistance to adapt AI to local needs.
“In this respect, the outcomes of the Shanghai conference and high-level meeting deliver a clear, action-oriented roadmap to advance inclusive global progress,” Ahmad said.
Other participating representatives echoed widespread support for WAICO, calling for all initiatives agreed in Shanghai to be translated into tangible, on-the-ground capacity building support for developing nations. The shared overarching goal across speakers was to make AI development more inclusive, broadly accessible, and mutually beneficial for all countries, regardless of their current level of economic or technological development.