Ten nations across Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe have just approved a coordinated strategy to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure together, marking a significant shift in how global AI governance is taking shape outside Western institutions. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) 26th summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on September 1, member states approved a memorandum on AI cooperation, a concept for regional data processing centers, and endorsed institutional ties with the newly launched World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a China-initiated body designed to offer an alternative framework for AI development and governance.

The summit brought together leaders from 10 SCO member states: Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The gathering also included observer states and partner nations, creating what amounts to a bloc representing roughly 3.2 billion people. This coordinated approach to AI reflects a broader geopolitical pattern in which nations are increasingly viewing artificial intelligence not as a neutral technology, but as infrastructure tied directly to national security and sovereignty.

What Specific AI Commitments Did the SCO Actually Make?

The summit produced concrete commitments that go beyond rhetorical support. China's President Xi Jinping announced that Beijing would establish an international center for AI cooperation among SCO countries and implement 100 technological cooperation projects with member states over the next three years. Kazakhstan proposed creating a network of AI research centers under the SCO umbrella to bring together universities, research institutions, and technology companies from member states. Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev went further, calling for the SCO to forge institutional ties with WAICO and proposing an "SCO Open Multilingual Data Corpus" to support AI development across the bloc. Uzbekistan also offered to host an SCO Forum on AI and New Digital Solutions in Tashkent in 2027.

Xi Jinping

These proposals reveal a strategic focus on pooling computing infrastructure and research capacity across the region. The underlying philosophy treats AI development as a collective security concern rather than a purely commercial or scientific endeavor. This approach contrasts sharply with Western models, where AI governance typically emphasizes individual company responsibility and market-driven innovation.

How Are These Nations Framing AI Safety and Governance?

The SCO's approach to AI governance emphasizes state control and sovereignty. In the Bishkek Declaration, member states affirmed the need to ensure the "safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence technologies," including prohibitions on using AI to deliberately harm human life, undermine national security, or violate territorial integrity. However, the declaration frames these safeguards within a distinctly sovereignty-focused lens.

The SCO's governance model differs fundamentally from Western approaches in several key ways:

• Data Sovereignty: Member states affirm their sovereign right to govern the internet within their national segments and to regulate data processing centers located on their territory.
• Infrastructure Control: The emphasis on regional data processing centers reflects a commitment to keeping AI infrastructure and the data it processes within the bloc, rather than relying on external cloud providers or international platforms.
• Information Security: The SCO adopted a Plan of Cooperation on Ensuring International Information Security for 2026-2028 and established a Universal Centre for Countering Security Challenges and Threats in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with an Information Security Centre as a core component.

The declaration also took a position on satellite internet services, stating that providing unlicensed satellite internet without authorization from national regulators constitutes "a violation of international law in the field of telecommunications." While no provider was named, this provision could have implications for services like Starlink operating in member states without explicit government approval.

Steps to Understanding the SCO's Digital Governance Model

• Recognize the Sovereignty Principle: The SCO's entire AI and digital strategy rests on the premise that individual states retain absolute control over data, infrastructure, and AI systems within their borders, rejecting the notion of borderless digital services.
• Understand the Regional Data Architecture: Rather than relying on centralized global cloud providers, the SCO is building a network of regional data processing centers that keep computing resources and data within the bloc, reducing dependence on external infrastructure.
• Track the WAICO Connection: The SCO's endorsement of institutional ties with WAICO signals that this regional bloc is aligning with a China-backed global AI governance framework that offers an alternative to Western-led institutions and standards.
• Monitor Information Security Expansion: The establishment of the Universal Centre for Countering Security Challenges and Threats represents a significant institutional investment in controlling the information space, with branches dedicated to cybersecurity, organized crime, and drug trafficking.

The bigger picture reveals that control over where data is stored, who operates the infrastructure that processes it, and how AI is governed is becoming inseparable from national security and sovereignty concerns. The SCO's focus on data centers, AI development, and digital security reflects a strategic effort to shape the architecture of the region's digital space and the position of individual states within it.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who addressed the summit, emphasized that technological advances should benefit all countries, not just a select few. He stressed the importance of effective safeguards and more inclusive governance mechanisms. His remarks highlighted a tension between the SCO's regionally focused approach and calls for more universally inclusive global AI governance.

The SCO's strategy represents a significant development in global AI governance. By coordinating AI development, infrastructure, and security policies across 10 nations, the bloc is creating an alternative model to Western-led AI governance frameworks. This approach prioritizes state sovereignty and regional self-sufficiency over the open, globally interconnected model that has dominated AI development in North America and Europe. As AI becomes increasingly central to economic competitiveness and national security, the SCO's institutional commitments signal that the geopolitical competition over AI governance is intensifying, with major powers and regional blocs each pursuing distinct visions of how AI should be developed, deployed, and controlled.