The US is poised to inform numerous nations that they must align themselves in the ongoing competition in artificial intelligence with China, cautioning that those who choose to endorse Beijing’s alternative framework will be barred from participating in a US-led AI coalition, as indicated by a US official. Last year, Washington initiated the Pax Silica program, designed to fortify supply chains for AI models, semiconductors, and essential minerals, in the context of an intense technological competition with Beijing. Approximately twenty-four nations have become members, including Kazakhstan, a significant prospective supplier of essential minerals that has also aligned itself with China’s coalition, alongside close US allies such as Japan, Australia, and South Korea. The draft letter, prepared by the State Department, is directed to the 35 signatories of a US “AI Opportunity Statement” signed in June. This group includes members of the non-binding Pax Silica framework and other nations that have indicated a willingness to align their AI cooperation with Washington.
By compelling nations to align themselves, the US aims to deplete China’s access to resources in a competition to develop the most advanced AI, potentially serving military or economic supremacy. In July, Chinese President Xi Jinping initiated a competing “World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization,” advocating for his nation’s open-weight technology as a counter to US dominance in the rapidly evolving sector. Kazakhstan stands out as the sole nation to have aligned itself with both initiatives, raising significant concerns in Washington. “To be part of everything is to be part of nothing. Signature of the Pax Silica Declaration is not merely a membership subscription, but a commitment,” the letter says, urging countries to “choose deliberately” on AI. “It cannot be held alongside membership in duplicative initiatives whose expectations conflict with our own,” the letter said, without specifically mentioning China. The State Department told it would not comment on “purportedly leaked internal documents.”
China’s embassy in Washington stated that the nation is against the politicisation of trade and technology matters. “Such actions will only stifle global AI advances and serve no one’s interests,” an embassy spokesperson said. The Kazakh embassy in Washington has not provided a response to the request for comment. The Pax Silica agreement seeks to encourage US allies and partners to engage in collaborative projects and implement export controls, ultimately aiming to diminish dependence on adversaries for essential minerals, AI models, and the semiconductor chips that drive them. The competition between the US and China for dominance in technology has entered a critical phase, as Chinese open-weight AI models have swiftly advanced in comparison to proprietary systems developed by US firms like OpenAI and Anthropic. The exponential growth of technology’s capabilities, including the ability to hack autonomously, has necessitated a global reckoning regarding its power. Beijing is considering imposing restrictions on foreign access to several of China’s premier AI models, underscoring the escalating friction with its rigorous national security policy. The US highlighted Kazakhstan in June as the inaugural nation in Central Asia to become part of Pax Silica, which possesses substantial reserves of critical minerals essential for advanced technologies.
China has leveraged its near-monopolies on critical minerals as a strategic tool in the tariff conflict initiated last year by US President Donald Trump, who has intensified efforts to secure these minerals from domestic sources and allied nations. Members of Pax Silica are afforded access to collective investment opportunities in AI-related projects. Those who endorse the AI Opportunity Statement have, in a symbolic gesture, aligned themselves with a “common purpose” and “shared vision” alongside the United States, as articulated in the statement available on the State Department’s website. US officials drafted the letter to clarify that “you can’t have it both ways,” the US official told, speaking on condition of anonymity due to ongoing internal discussions on the matter. “It’s difficult to see how a country can credibly position themselves as trusted partners in one technology ecosystem while simultaneously signing up for an initiative designed by China to advance a competing vision for AI,” the official said.
