Scholars and international figures at the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday, 18 July 2026 issued an urgent call for greater global cooperation and development-focused AI regulations to prevent a deepening digital divide between wealthy and emerging economies. The annual conference has become a key platform for Beijing to court the Global South with an artificial intelligence package centred on training, infrastructure, and influence over global governance standards.

International consensus at the centre of debate

Xue Lan, dean of the Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University and a prominent scholar of public policy and global AI governance, addressed a panel urging coordinated multilateral action. “We need to build international consensus,” he said, calling on international organisations to improve interoperability between national governance systems and prevent the fragmentation of global AI rules.

Xue specifically urged expanded cooperation between the Global South and the Global North, warning that divergent regulatory frameworks risk entrenching existing technological inequalities rather than narrowing them.

Developing economies push back on early-stage regulation

Representatives from developing economies struck a cautionary note, arguing that heavy-handed AI governance could stifle nascent progress in emerging markets. Nambaryn Enkhbayar, former president of Mongolia, was direct in his assessment. “Governance is not about regulating at the very beginning,” he said, stressing that nations must first be able to seize technological opportunities and participate in the global AI economy before comprehensive regulatory frameworks are imposed.

Enkhbayar also signalled Mongolia’s intent to deepen AI ties with China. “We are ready to develop AI in Mongolia through cooperation with other countries, including China,” he added, reflecting a broader pattern of smaller economies looking to Beijing as an alternative AI development partner to Washington.

Why it matters: China’s governance pitch to the Global South

The messaging at WAIC 2026 aligns closely with China’s strategic positioning in the global AI governance debate. By championing access, infrastructure, and training for developing nations, Beijing is actively competing with Western-led frameworks for influence over how AI is governed internationally. Organisations including the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation and initiatives linked to the United Nations — where figures such as Amandeep Singh Gill have been central to multilateral AI discussions — form part of the broader institutional landscape being shaped at forums like WAIC.

The competitive backdrop

The summit arrives as the global AI governance landscape fragments along geopolitical lines, with Washington and Beijing each advancing distinct regulatory philosophies. Groups such as Concordia AI have advocated for inclusive, multi-stakeholder governance models, but translating those principles into binding international frameworks remains contested. The risk, as scholars at WAIC noted, is that a patchwork of incompatible national rules could lock developing economies out of the AI economy entirely.

What’s next

The debate over AI governance equity is expected to intensify as major economies finalise their domestic AI regulatory regimes and multilateral bodies seek to coordinate standards. For the Global South, the central question is whether international frameworks will be designed with their participation — or handed down to them. China’s continued investment in AI diplomacy through platforms like WAIC suggests Beijing intends to remain a central actor in shaping that answer.