China's President Xi Jinping proposed the creation of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization as Asian and Pacific Rim leaders adopted major new regional frameworks aiming at ensuring new technology and demographic transitions translate into inclusive growth.
Wrapping up their leaders' weeklong meeting on Saturday, the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations, which collectively account for 50% of global trade and 61% of the world's total economic output, agreed to new, cooperative initiatives to secure the region's future economic stability.
South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung, who chaired the economic leaders' meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, said APEC's gathering reflects a pivotal moment as economies navigate rapid technological disruption.
"The free trade system is experiencing strong turbulence, global economic uncertainty is deepening, and momentum for trade and investment is weakening," he told APEC, which began as an informal dialogue group in 1989. "The technological revolution represented by artificial intelligence brings both unprecedented challenges and unprecedented opportunities."
Divergent approaches to the governance of artificial intelligence figured prominently among the global economic powers. The summit saw Xi assert that such a global AI body is needed to set governance rules and promote cooperation, ensuring AI becomes a "public good for the international community." The proposal, however, directly contrasts with some of the approaches favored by other key APEC nations.
The APEC meeting followed the U.N. General Assembly’s formal launch in September of new AI governance bodies, including the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. China advocated for the U.N. to serve as the main channel for governance, while the U.S. resisted putting AI under a centralized U.N. authority, favoring a more flexible model for sovereignty and innovation.
Despite the tensions, APEC leaders formally endorsed two key initiatives. They created the APEC AI Initiative, a new framework designed to advance successful AI transformation and build essential technological capacities across the member nations as part of a commitment to "preparing the region for the digital and AI transformation."
Concurrently, they adopted the APEC Collaborative Framework for Demographic Changes, a plan to acknowledge the profound impact of shifting populations on labor markets and commit the group to maximizing economic growth across all generations in the Asia-Pacific.
Trade consensus, ministerial actions, China next year
The leaders' Gyeongju Declaration pledged support for robust trade and investment that "benefits all," but notably omitted direct reference to the World Trade Organization or multilateralism – in a sign of the difficulty in achieving consensus on free trade amid current geopolitical strains.
In contrast, APEC ministers' separate joint statement explicitly called for comprehensive reform of WTO to enhance its functions. Ministers welcomed the formation of an APEC Center of Excellence for Paperless Trade, or ACCEPT, leveraging digitalization to streamline trade processes.
Xi confirmed that China will host the next annual APEC leaders' summit in Nov. 2026 at the major technology hub of Shenzhen. It is expected to heavily feature its proposals on technology, including its push for a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, or WAICO.
Shenzhen, which grew from a small fishing village into a major global technology and innovation hub, represents the rapid economic and technological progress China is keen to highlight. Hosting APEC there serves as a global advertisement for China's advancements in areas like AI, smart manufacturing, electric vehicles, and robotics.
Chinese officials have also framed the selection of Shenzhen as a demonstration of their "resolve to uphold openness" for trade and investment, even while competing strategically on technology.
Xi told APEC that China hopes WAICO "will provide the international community with public goods on AI through cooperation on development strategies, governance rules and technological standards."
China is ready to work with all APEC members "to enhance AI literacy and bridge the digital and AI divide in the Asia Pacific region," he said of the proposal that China is positioning as a path toward a multilateral, rules-based global organization, possibly headquartered in Shanghai.
The future use of AI "should contribute to the well-being of people of all countries and regions," Xi emphasized. "We should bear in mind the well-being of the entire humanity, and promote the sound and orderly development of AI while ensuring that it is beneficial, safe and fair."
