China launches parallel AI order with 29 nations, offers 5,000 training slots

China's establishment of WIKO represents a deliberate effort to create a competing international AI governance framework that excludes Western influence and centers on relationships with the Global South and strategic partners like Russia. By hosting the organization in Shanghai and recruiting nations from Africa, South America, and Asia as founding members, China is positioning itself as an alternative leader for developing economies seeking AI capability-building without Western restrictions. The offer of 5,000 training slots is both a capacity-building incentive and a mechanism to deepen ties with these nations.

Xi's rhetorical pushback against "overly broad national security justifications" in AI policy directly targets US export controls on semiconductors and AI technology—controls that have constrained China's access to advanced chips. By framing such restrictions as overreach and calling for AI to remain under human control, Xi is advancing a narrative that positions China's approach as more measured and governance-focused than the West's. China's stated $140 billion（約22兆円） Smart Economy signals the scale of investment and infrastructure supporting this parallel order.