US to Require AI Partners to Choose Between Washington and Beijing

The United States is preparing to notify dozens of countries that they must choose between a US led artificial intelligence coalition and a competing framework launched by China. According to a US official and an internal draft reviewed by Reuters, countries that join Beijing's initiative will be excluded from the US led coalition. The draft letter from the State Department is addressed to 35 signatories of a June AI Opportunity Statement, which includes members of the Pax Silica framework.

Launched last year, the Pax Silica initiative seeks to secure supply chains for semiconductors, AI models, and critical minerals. Approximately two dozen countries have joined, including Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is currently the only known country to have joined both the US and Chinese initiatives, a situation that has caused concern in Washington. In July, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization to promote open weight technology and challenge US influence.

The draft letter states that signature of the Pax Silica Declaration is a commitment rather than a membership subscription, asserting that it cannot be held alongside membership in duplicative initiatives with conflicting expectations. By forcing this choice, the US aims to limit China's access to resources necessary for developing sophisticated AI that could be used for economic or military dominance.

China's embassy in Washington stated that the country opposes the politicization of technology and trade, arguing that such actions stifle global AI advances. The Kazakh embassy did not respond to requests for comment. The State Department declined to comment on the purportedly leaked internal documents.

The competition comes as Chinese open weight AI models make gains against proprietary systems from US firms like OpenAI and Anthropic. Additionally, the US is working to reduce reliance on adversaries for critical minerals, which China has used as a retaliatory tool during a tariff war initiated by President Donald Trump.