Beyond the U.S.-China Binary: The New Landscape of AI Partnerships in the Global South
Governments across Global South countries are seeking public and private partners for connectivity, data centers, computing power, digital public infrastructure, AI models, skills and governance support. China remains distinct in its ability to operate across the entire AI ecosystem, while Gulf states offer cloud and compute, India open models and digital public infrastructure, and middle powers workforce and governance capacity. China launched the World AI Cooperation Organization with 29 founding members and Xi Jinping pledged 5,000 AI training slots over five years, while India's IndiaAI Mission, BharatGen, AI4Bharat and Sarvam AI focus on open datasets, multilingual models and locally relevant AI.
Why it matters: The shift from infrastructure financing to rule-setting makes AI governance in the Global South a site of competition among China, India and other partners.