Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Shanghai on a two-day visit to sign Pakistan into the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) as a founding member, marking a strategic pivot in how developing nations align with competing AI governance models. The Foreign Office confirmed the signing ceremony will take place alongside the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026, where Dar will also engage with global leaders to push for inclusive AI governance. Main Developments Dar will participate in the WAIC 2026 and hold bilateral meetings with his Chinese counterpart and other officials to discuss mutual interests, according to an earlier FO statement. The Pakistani delegation plans to share perspectives on strengthening international AI cooperation, with a focus on the Global South's development needs. "He will underscore the importance of bridging the global AI divide, promoting equitable access to AI technologies, enhancing capacity-building, and ensuring that the benefits of AI contribute to sustainable development and shared prosperity for all," the FO statement read. The visit comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend WAIC for the first time, outlining an ambitious vision for China's role in global AI governance. Read also: Sindh Panel Seeks Legal Action Against Officials Over Gul Plaza Fire Background China first proposed WAICO last July when Premier Li Qiang opened WAIC in Shanghai, emphasizing the need for governance and open-source development of AI. During Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's four-day visit to China in May this year, Pakistan expressed support for China's initiative, calling it "a concrete step toward promoting the development of artificial intelligence for good and for all." Islamabad pledged to work with Beijing to "advance global governance and international cooperation" on AI. The partnership unfolds against a backdrop of escalating US-China tech rivalry, with Washington and Beijing preparing for their first government-level AI talks under President Donald Trump's administration. At a UN AI dialogue last week, the two rivals set out competing visions: Washington argued sweeping regulation would stifle breakthroughs, while Beijing framed its low-cost, open-source AI models as a public good to bridge global AI inequality. Why It Matters WAIC has transformed from a technology showcase into a geopolitical stage where Beijing seeks to articulate its vision of AI as both a national priority and a diplomatic instrument, wrote George Chen, chair of digital practice at the Asia Group. Pakistan's founding membership in WAICO signals a realignment of developing nations toward China's AI governance framework, which emphasizes open-source access and equitable distribution over Western-style regulation. Huawei's Atlas 950 SuperPoD large-scale AI computing system, making its public debut at the forum, demonstrates China's ability to assemble advanced AI systems without Nvidia's most advanced chips. DeepSeek's latest V4 model has been adapted to run entirely on clusters built using Huawei's Ascend chips, highlighting progress by Chinese firms in building independent AI ecosystems. Chinese chipmakers including Biren and MetaX are also expected to release new "supernode" computing clusters at the conference. What's Next WAIC coincides with a High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai, where progress on WAICO and implementing the Global AI Governance Initiative are expected to be announced. Beijing is also expected to promote China's open-source AI models as low-cost alternatives to Western offerings, arguing they can broaden access to technology. "The development of AI must never move toward a technological monopoly that walls itself in, but should always be anchored to the fundamental goal of serving humanity," read a People's Daily commentary this week. International leaders including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul will attend, alongside nine Turing Award and Nobel laureates, though major US tech firms have little representation. Other product launches expected include AI agent smartphones from ZTE-owned Nubia and AI startup StepFun.