His appearance underscored the growing importance Beijing attaches to shaping the global governance of artificial intelligence (AI). China just needs its new organization to become a significant venue for the collective normalization of China’s approaches to AI governance. To “support global AI development and advance global AI capacity building,” over the next five years, China pledged to provide 5,000 AI training opportunities for developing countries. None of this guarantees that WAICO will become a dominant institution in global AI governance. China presented the World AI Cooperation Organization as an expression of “true multilateralism.”