Editor's note: Lin G. is a CGTN economic commentator. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of CGTN.

At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, 29 countries signed the agreement establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), with its headquarters permanently based in the city. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres attended the signing ceremony. By any measure, this marks a milestone in global AI governance. 

Yet even as countries gathered to expand cooperation in the AI era, some Western media outlets chose to view the development through a different lens — framing a new platform for global participation as another geopolitical contest.

A familiar pattern, an outdated lens

A pattern has become predictable. When a multilateral initiative emerges that is not led by the United States or its traditional allies, it is promptly labeled a geopolitical instrument. Several Western media outlets and policy circles, including voices from publications such as The Economist, Reuters, and the Financial Times, have tended to frame China's engagement in AI through the language of "AI diplomacy" or strategic competition. Similar interpretations have also appeared in some US think tank discussions, where AI cooperation is often viewed primarily through the prism of great-power rivalry.

This perspective rests on a binary assumption: international cooperation is either American-led or it is a challenge to American influence. The possibility that developing countries may have their own priorities, their own interests, and their own agency does not easily fit into this narrative.

But the real divide in global AI governance is not between Washington and Beijing. It is between those who treat artificial intelligence as a commodity to be monopolized — a "new oil" — and those who see AI as a global public good whose value lies in circulation and access. AI, in this vision, is more like water than oil: its value comes not from scarcity and control, but from wider use and shared benefits.

What the Global South actually wants

The most powerful rebuttal to geopolitical readings can be found on the stage of WAIC itself. The opening ceremony featured keynote addresses by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and leaders from Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Thailand.

Their collective voice lays bare what developing nations genuinely pursue in AI governance, far removed from Western narratives focused on power competition. The speeches underscored a shared vision: that the future of AI should be shaped through broader international participation, with developing countries able to access the opportunities created by technological progress rather than being left behind.

For the Global South, AI governance is ultimately not about geopolitical rivalry, but about ensuring that innovation becomes a driver of development and that the benefits of the intelligent era are shared more widely. After years of facing extraterritorial measures imposed by the United States, many developing countries have little interest in turning AI into another arena of bloc confrontation. Their priority is to preserve space for development, strengthen technological capacity, and participate in a global system where rules are shaped through consultation rather than imposed by a few.

With the United Nations playing a central role and WAICO established as a platform for international cooperation, the hope is that AI governance can move toward a truly global framework — one that serves all nations rather than becoming another instrument of geopolitical rivalry.

Four principles, one logic

The four principles articulated at the conference offer a coherent philosophy of AI governance:

First, openness and win-win cooperation, encouraging open-source development, openness and collaboration. Second, ensuring that AI is secure and controllable, while opposing the overstretching of the "national security" concept or placing one country's security over that of others. Third, promoting mutual learning among civilizations. AI should not undermine the diversity of world civilizations. Fourth, advocating solidarity and improving global governance. The important role of the United Nations should be recognized.

These principles are also being translated into concrete action. China announced that it would provide 5,000 AI training opportunities for developing countries over the next five years, establish international AI application cooperation centers for ASEAN, the Arab League, the African Union, CELAC, the SCO and BRICS members, and promote the deployment of AI-powered weather early-warning solutions in 30 countries and regions.

Seeing the world as it is, not as you fear it to be

The geopolitical narratives surrounding WAICO reveal more about the mindset of some Western commentators than about the organization itself. A global governance mechanism that brings together countries from different regions, including many developing nations, and receives recognition from the UN Secretary-General should not be reduced to a geopolitical narrative. It represents an effort by countries that have long had limited influence in global technology governance to claim a greater voice in shaping the future of AI.

The question for those who view AI cooperation primarily through the lens of rivalry is simple: Can they recognize what the Global South is asking for, or are they projecting geopolitical anxieties onto a shared effort to build a more inclusive AI future?