Why the Global South is rallying to China for AI development and governance

An AI system is showcased at the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai, east China, July 18, 2026. [VCG]

As the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance concluded in Shanghai on Monday, one feature stood out: a striking surge in the presence of Global South nations.

One of the four-day conference's most concrete outcomes was the creation of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, the world's first intergovernmental international organization to cope with AI opportunities and challenges.

Within just one year of China's proposal, 29 founding members, spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, signed the agreement on July 16 at a ceremony also attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The roster of signatories, including Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia, Indonesia as well as China, shared two commonalities: they have all integrated AI into their national development plans and they all belong to the Global South.

Why are developing nations turning to Beijing to navigate the frontier of AI development and governance? The consensus in Shanghai points to two compelling pillars: China's unique combination of "hard" technological strength and "soft" governance philosophy.

Action-oriented AI that helps bridge the gap

The first magnet drawing Global South partners is China's strength in action-oriented, people-centered AI technology, balancing innovation with on-the-ground delivery.

A prime example was the MAZU system, China's AI-powered meteorological early warning solution, an upgraded version of which was formally handed over to Djibouti at a meteorological sub-forum of WAIC. China has also announced that it will enable 30 countries to use the system in the next five years.

China's AI-powered meteorological early warning solution, MAZU, is showcased at the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai, east China, July 18, 2026. [VCG]

Ismail Nour, director-general of Djibouti National Meteorological Agency, hailed the system as a lifeline for his drought- and flood-prone semi-arid nation, crediting shared Chinese satellite data and AI computing power with safeguarding lives and underpinning economic development for his country during an interview with China Media Group (CMG).

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev led a large delegation of telecom giants, AI startups, equipment makers and academics to WAIC, sealing over 70 commercial deals worth more than $15 billion with Chinese counterparts.

Designating 2026 the "Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence," Tokayev said his country stands ready to pursue all-round cooperation with Chinese partners across a wide spectrum of areas, including investment, localized technology development, joint scientific research, talent cultivation and others.

He also voiced confidence that collaboration between Kazakhstan and China in artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and high-performance computing will serve as the central pillar steering the next phase of their bilateral strategic partnership.

A UN report released earlier this month laid bare a structural imbalance: Cutting-edge AI capacity has nearly doubled since April 2024, with more than 1 billion people globally utilizing conversational AI tools each week, yet the Global South trails far behind advanced economies in AI access and adoption levels.

As part of efforts to address such gaps, China, a global leader in AI development, has pledged to provide developing countries with 5,000 opportunities in AI training and seminar programs in the next five years. It has also rolled out actionable frameworks, translating the Global AI Governance Initiative it first proposed in 2023 into concrete plans covering inclusive capacity building, cross-border coordination and ethical guardrails.

Shahbaz Khan, director and representative to the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, told CMG that China's commitment to providing 5,000 AI training slots is a profound move that empowers these nations to build their own AI data and application systems under open-source standards.

Public goods based on open-source principles

China has also renewed its pledge to the international community to consistently act as a provider of global public goods in AI sector during the conference.

Open-source technology stands out as a core keyword featured in nearly all outcome documents released at the event, representing a tangible Chinese initiative to advance worldwide AI sharing. According to Xinhua, China's open-source large AI models, whose source code, training and other data are publicly available, have been downloaded more than 10 billion times in total, topping all other countries worldwide.

Blade Nzimande, minister of science, technology and innovation of South Africa, told CMG that China has committed comprehensive supporting resources as his country is preparing to launch an AI center.

Rather than acting as a patronizing donor, China functions as an equal partner that leverages its technological strengths to deliver practical support, said Nzimande.

Zeng Yi, a professor at Renmin University of China, noted that since the central tenet of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is leaving no one behind, open-source development will constitute an indispensable strategy for extending AI benefits to all populations.

From the outset, China has positioned AI as an empowering technology to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Zeng told CMG. He noted that China has promoted and amplified the value of open-source AI concepts on an unprecedented and far-reaching global scale.

Addressing the WAIC opening ceremony on July 17, Guterres praised China's contributions to global AI governance and hailed the open-source strategy of China as "an enormous global success."