What happened
At the 2026 Global Governance Forum (23-25 October 2026, Xiongan New Area, China), the Chinese government released the Progress Report on the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All, which reviews two years of cooperation outcomes and calls for promoting openness and open source and advancing AI models, data and talent in a coordinated manner. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged evolving 'an artificial intelligence (AI) governance structure based on general consensus soon' and said China and the US have the responsibility to jointly develop and govern AI 'under human control.' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun invited more countries to join the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) and reiterated support for UN-led AI governance and greater Global South representation, building on China's 2024 UN General Assembly AI capacity-building resolution.
Why it matters
This is the latest concrete push from a major power for a UN-centred, open-source-leaning AI governance architecture and a Global South capacity-building bloc, as an alternative to the US-centric frontier-model framework. It directly shapes the multilateral AI-governance landscape — including possible open-source model sharing, capacity-building funds, and who sets AI standards — that AI companies and deployers will operate under internationally.
Action needed
For multinational AI deployers, track WAICO membership invitations and any UN General Assembly follow-up on AI governance; assess whether open-source/weight-sharing requirements could become attached to multilateral capacity-building programmes or market-access conditions.