Half of Southeast Asia has joined China, Russia, Brazil and 21 other countries as founding members of a new Shanghai-based AI group known as the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization ( Waico ).

Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar were among 29 nations that took part in a signing ceremony overseen by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in Shanghai last Thursday.

India is not among the founding members of the world’s first intergovernmental AI group. However, it is part of Pax Silica, a US-led semiconductor initiative launched in Washington in December; it has 24 members.

'Call of Global South'

“AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said a day after the signing of the Waico agreement.

Speaking at a World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on AI Governance on Friday, Xi said: “Waico is 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.”

In a statement as chair of the meeting, China says Waico “aims to bridge the AI divide by supporting Global South countries”.

In addition to 5,000 training opportunities over the next five years, China is planning AI application cooperation centres” in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, including Arab states, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

China also plans to expand access to Mazu, the country’s AI-powered early-warning weather platform.

'Different orientations'

Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for economic affairs, asserts that Waico is “not necessarily at odds” with Pax Silica, which has only two Southeast Asia members – the Philippines and Singapore.

The Chinese and US initiatives “are grounded in different orientations and priorities”, Airlangga notes.

In a statement released Saturday, Indonesia says its commitment to Waico is in line with its four-year Artificial Intelligence Roadmap and AI ethical guidelines currently being finalized.

"Waico is not merely a consultative forum but an integral part of global AI governance and equitable technology transfer," says Angga Raka Prabowo, deputy communications and digital affairs minister.

Russia’s deputy prime minister Dmitry Grigorenko says Moscow is hoping to use its Waico membership to promote Russian AI abroad.

“We are one of the few countries that have their own large language models. This enables us not only to share our developments and expertise, but also to efficiently adopt the best world practices,” Grigorenko says.

“Our active involvement in the organization will help strengthen the global technological dialogue and effectively promote Russian developments.”

Malaysia ‘well integrated’ 

Apart from China, Brazil, Russia and Malaysia are the only Waico members in the top 30 jurisdictions in the latest Global AI Index published by Britain’s Tortoise Media in December last year.

The index – based on AI capacity in innovation, implementation and investment – ranks Malaysia 24th, Brazil 25th and Russia 29th. China ranks second after the US, with Singapore ranking third.

According to last month’s update to the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Report, Malaysia is “well integrated" into the global technology value chain, ranking fourth in net exports of AI-related hardware behind Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand.

The other Waico founding signatories are Algeria, Belarus, Cameroon, Congo, Cuba, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Oman, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zambia.

Supply chain security

The US initiative – described as its “flagship effort on AI and supply chain security” – comprises Argentina, Australia, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, the Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the US.

In his remarks in Shanghai last week, President Xi appeared to address the different approaches to AI taken by China and the US.

“As ancient Chinese observed, ‘A man of wisdom adapts to changes; a man of knowledge acts by circumstances’,” he said.

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