Full Breakdown
Xi Proposes China-Led Open-Source AI Zone for BRICS
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Proposal at the New Delhi Summit
On September 12, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the eleven BRICS nations to deepen AI cooperation and announced that China would lead an “open-source AI zone” for the bloc. The initiative, framed as “Open and Inclusive AI,” promises shared research, training programmes and a common ecosystem for large-language models (LLMs).
Background and Context
The proposal follows Beijing’s recent push to organise AI collaboration outside the West. In July, China founded the World AI Cooperation Organization (WACO), a body of twenty-nine countries that signed a founding agreement on 16 July and is headquartered in Shanghai. WACO, which excludes EU members, is presented as a platform for AI cooperation among emerging economies. At the same summit, Xi also called for a “global AI governance framework” based on broad consensus.
Key Participants and Organizations
- Xi Jinping – President of China.
- World AI Cooperation Organization (WACO) – Beijing-founded AI body with 29 signatories, including Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Brazil.
- BRICS – The eleven-nation group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) that met in New Delhi.
- European Commission – Enforcer of the EU AI Act, which exempts genuinely open-source models from certain regulatory burdens but imposes obligations on models deemed to pose systemic risk.
Data and Statistics
- 29 countries signed the WACO agreement on 16 July.
- 11 BRICS members participated in the summit.
- The EU AI Act, effective 2 August, allows fines of up to 3 % of global turnover for non-compliant AI providers.
Official Statements & Responses
- Xi’s CCTV-broadcast speech highlighted Chinese firms’ “world-leading open-source AI models” and contrasted them with “closed-door approaches” of U.S. developers.
- The European Commission’s guidelines, cited by Thenextweb, exempt open-source general-purpose models from certain documentation requirements unless “systemic risk” is identified.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued statements supporting broader AI cooperation, without detailing the Chinese-led zone.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Sources differ on the institutional form of the proposed AI bloc. Kuwait Times and Il Sole 24 Ore describe it as a “zone” or “community” led by China, while Streamlinefeed notes uncertainty over whether Xi’s appeal implies a formal organization or a broader cooperative framework.
- The extent of participation by non-BRICS partners is unclear. Il Sole 24 Ore mentions “Greater BRICS” partners such as Nigeria and Thailand attending the summit, but no official list of invited AI entities has been released.
Why It Matters
The initiative positions China as a counterweight to the EU’s AI regulatory model, offering emerging economies an alternative pathway to develop open-source LLMs. If realized, the zone could provide shared research infrastructure and reduce reliance on proprietary Western AI services, while the EU’s enforcement mechanisms underscore divergent regulatory philosophies that may influence future trade and technology negotiations between the two blocs.