US draft letter pushes allies to choose AI bloc over China

The United States is preparing a letter urging partner countries to pick a side in the widening AI rivalry between Washington and Beijing, according to reporting by Reuters cited by the-decoder.com. A State Department draft reviewed by Reuters states, “To be part of everything is to be part of nothing,” warning that nations joining China’s AI initiative would be excluded from the US-led coalition known as Pax Silica.

Washington launched Pax Silica last year to secure supply chains for AI models, semiconductors, and critical minerals. Roughly two dozen countries have joined the coalition, along with the European Union. Kazakhstan is currently the only known country participating in both the US-led coalition and China’s competing framework, a position tied to its large reserves of critical minerals important to high-tech and AI supply chains.

In July, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a rival body, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, which promotes China’s open-weight AI models as an alternative to systems from US firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic. China’s embassy in Washington has pushed back against the US plans, arguing that forcing countries to choose sides would slow global AI progress and serve no one’s interests, the-decoder.com reported.

The reported draft letter signals an escalation in efforts by Washington to consolidate international alignment around US AI infrastructure and standards, at a moment when both governments are competing to shape global rules and supply chains for advanced computing. The outcome could affect how smaller and resource-rich nations, such as Kazakhstan, navigate access to critical minerals, semiconductors, and AI models amid pressure to align exclusively with one bloc.

Based on reporting by the-decoder.com.