AI governance is taking center stage as the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, scheduled to convene on 14 July 2026, is set to bring together governments, international organizations, industry and researchers to translate principles into concrete cooperation. Against a global backdrop marked by widening capacity gaps, barriers to data and compute, and fragmented regulation, China is proposing an agenda focused on innovation, safety and development, built around international initiatives launched in recent years.
A widening international capability gap
Recent discussions in Geneva — during the AI for Good Global Summit 2026 and the World Summit on the Information Society — highlighted a message from the UN’s Independent Scientific Panel on AI: the “AI divide” is no longer just a question of access to tools, but of the ability to shape AI’s future. This asymmetry makes it harder for many countries and stakeholders to participate meaningfully in setting agendas, standards and norms for AI.
