Reasonable Alliance: why Russia and China are creating WAICO

A new international artificial intelligence organization, WAICO, has appeared in Shanghai. It includes 29 countries, including Russia. There are no Western states among the founders. The organization was created against the backdrop of the intensifying technological confrontation between the United States and China. According to experts, the countries that will be the first to influence standards in the field of AI will gain, among other things, an economic advantage. What WAICO will give Russia and whether it will be able to compete with Western initiatives is in the Izvestia article.

Own rules

The World Conference on Artificial Intelligence (WAIC) has ended in Shanghai. One of the main events of the forum was the creation of a new international organization in the field of AI. Representatives of 29 states signed an agreement on the establishment of the World Organization for Cooperation in the Field of Artificial Intelligence (WAICO). The founders include Russia, China, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Pakistan and other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. There are no Western countries on this list.

"One string will not make music, and one tree will not make a forest. The development of artificial intelligence should not be a solo performance by one country, it should become a symphony of international cooperation," Chinese President Xi Jinping said on the sidelines of the WAIC.

According to him, the rapid development of AI opens up huge opportunities, but at the same time raises new issues for the world — from security and ethics to the growing technological gap between countries. Within the framework of WAICO, the states intend to jointly develop rules in the field of artificial intelligence. At the same time, cooperation should be built within the framework of the UN system.

Beijing pays special attention to the countries of the Global South. In the next five years, developing countries will be provided with 5,000 places in AI training programs and seminars. Another 30 states will have access to the MAZU early warning system, which uses satellite data, radars and AI models to predict dangerous weather events.

Beijing also intends to establish cooperation centers with BRICS, SCO, ASEAN, the African Union, the League of Arab States and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Russia also expects to actively participate in the work of the new structure. The Russian delegation at the conference was headed by Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration. "Russia is ready to share practical solutions: we are developing our own large language models, cloud—based digital platforms and application solutions, and we have unique competencies at the intersection of nuclear energy and high-performance computing," he said.

At the same time, Oreshkin stressed that international cooperation does not contradict the policy of developing its own technologies. According to him, technological independence allows states to manage critical infrastructure themselves, protect their citizens' data, and choose partners without external pressure.

Who is strong in what way

WAICO is being created against the backdrop of increasingly fierce technological competition between China and the United States. Washington has been restricting Beijing's access to advanced semiconductors and technologies for the development of artificial intelligence for several years. In July, Nvidia more than halved the list of verified buyers of its AI chips in Asia due to concerns that the equipment could eventually end up in China.

Therefore, China is not only developing its own technologies, but also looking for new partners. At the same time, WAICO member countries can gain access to models, infrastructure, and knowledge without being tied to Western companies.

— China is striving to take a leading role in shaping the international rules of the game, while a unified system of global regulation of AI has not yet developed. This is similar to the situation with the digital economy or telecommunications: whoever is the first to propose standards gets a long—term technological and economic advantage," explains Evgeny Shatov, partner at Capital Lab, to Izvestia.

In terms of its capabilities, China is noticeably ahead of most of the founders of the new organization. Last year, the volume of the Chinese artificial intelligence industry exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan ($170 billion), and the number of companies operating in the industry reached 6.2 thousand. Chinese open AI models have been downloaded more than 10 billion times by the spring of 2026. However, other participants do not come to WAICO empty-handed.

Russia already has its own large language models, and companies are also developing cloud and computing infrastructure for working with AI. In six months, the demand for such cloud infrastructure in the Russian Federation has grown by 507% at once.

Kazakhstan also has its own developments. A supercomputer based on 496 NVIDIA H200 accelerators is operating in the country, and its own AlemLLM model has been created for the Kazakh language. In addition, 2026 has been declared the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Kazakhstan.

— The possibilities of the participants of the new organization are different, — explains the interlocutor of the editorial office. — Russia has strong competencies in mathematics, fundamental computer science, engineering, and certain areas of AI. Brazil, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and other countries represent major technology adoption markets, data sources, and partners in the digital transformation of the economy. China is forming not only a political coalition, but also a potential ecosystem for scaling its own AI solutions.

What will Russia get

For Russia, participation in WAICO provides an opportunity to join the development of new rules in the field of AI even at the stage of the organization's creation. The initiative will also allow us to look for partners and promote our developments in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

— Under the conditions of sanctions restrictions, such cooperation can facilitate access to technologies and a component base. Participation in the formation of international standards allows Russia to influence the rules governing AI, and not just adapt to decisions already made," says Evgeny Shatov.

Cooperation with China is also important, Polina Omelchuk, CEO of Legal Technologies LLC and founder of the Strizh AI legal Assistant, tells Izvestia.

— China is one of the world leaders in developing its own neural network models, so cooperation with it opens up new opportunities for Russia. At the same time, it is important to maintain technological sovereignty and control over data. It seems reasonable for the industry to combine international cooperation with the development of its own technologies," the specialist points out.

The very idea of international rules for AI is far from new. The Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) is already operating in the West, working with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The European AI Act and the Hiroshima Process, launched by the G7 countries, are also working.

The Chinese initiative differs in that it focuses not only on regulation, but also on the access of participating countries to technology and knowledge. This may be of interest primarily to countries in the Global South that do not yet have their own large developers.

— There is a potential to become a competitor to Western initiatives: the organization unites many countries, which means large markets and resources. However, China remains the technological leader among the participants. The real weight of the association will depend on how quickly the countries move from declarations to joint practical projects," Omelchuk believes.

According to Denis Goldman, founder of the Goldman and Po communication agency, in the near future competition will go not so much for leadership in the development of the most powerful models, but for the markets and rules of their use.

— There is a potential for rivalry with Western structures. The fate of WAICO will depend on whether the declarations can be turned into a working mechanism with specific commitments and joint projects," he said.