RUSSIA PERSPECTIVE

Moscow, July 19, 2026. Russia signed the founding agreement of the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO) on July 16 in Shanghai, alongside 28 other countries, including China, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Venezuela, and ten African nations, according to RIA Novosti. The new intergovernmental organization's headquarters will be located in Shanghai, with a mission to promote global AI governance based on the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Grigorenko, in charge of the digital transformation of the economy, defended the initiative in terms reported by RT: "We consistently advocate for the establishment of transparent rules governing extraterritorial technologies." The agreement was signed by Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev.

The bilateral aspect takes center stage in Russia's reading of the event. According to RIA Novosti, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured Russian Presidential Administration Deputy Chief Maxim Orechkine that Beijing is ready to cooperate with Moscow for the "healthy, safe, and orderly" development of artificial intelligence, calling for strengthened capabilities of Global South countries. Wang Yi also emphasized that the "mutual trust and friendship" between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping constitutes the fundamental guarantee of the development of bilateral relations.

Xi Jinping also argued, at the opening of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, that AI development should not undermine the diversity of civilizations or weaken human control over technology. In the presence of Antonio Guterres, who was in Shanghai, the Chinese leader also called for strengthening the UN in an increasingly unstable world, warning against a return to "the law of the jungle."

This Russo-Chinese convergence comes amid tensions: the US accuses Beijing of electoral interference via the theft of 220 million voter files, an accusation China describes as "pure fabrication." Russian analysts cited by RT simultaneously defend a model of global governance, via the BRICS, that would not replicate existing Western structures.