US to Push Partners to Choose Sides in AI Race With China

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — WEB DESK: The United States is preparing to press dozens of countries to choose between Washington and Beijing in the intensifying global artificial intelligence competition, warning that participation in China’s rival technology framework could result in exclusion from a US-led coalition.

The planned message is contained in a draft State Department letter and was described to Reuters by a US official. It marks a potentially significant escalation in Washington’s efforts to build an international technology bloc around artificial intelligence, semiconductors and critical minerals.

Washington draws line over rival AI initiatives

The United States launched its Pax Silica initiative last year as part of efforts to secure supply chains considered crucial to the development of advanced artificial intelligence.

The framework focuses on areas including AI models, semiconductor technology and critical minerals — resources that have become increasingly important as Washington and Beijing compete for technological leadership.

About two dozen countries have joined Pax Silica, according to Reuters. Participants include close US allies such as Japan, Australia and South Korea, as well as Kazakhstan, an important potential supplier of critical minerals.

Kazakhstan has also joined China’s competing coalition, highlighting the challenge facing countries seeking technological and economic relationships with both major powers.

Draft letter targets 35 countries

The draft State Department letter is addressed to 35 countries that signed a US-backed AI Opportunity Statement in June.

That group includes Pax Silica participants as well as other governments that have indicated an interest in aligning their artificial intelligence cooperation with Washington.

Under the proposed US approach, countries participating in competing initiatives such as China’s recently established World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization could be considered incompatible with membership in the American-led coalition.

The move would effectively require some governments to make a strategic choice over which AI ecosystem they intend to support.

AI competition expands beyond technology

The US strategy reflects how artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming intertwined with foreign policy, national security and global economic competition.

Washington hopes that building a network of aligned countries could restrict China’s access to resources needed to develop increasingly sophisticated AI systems. US policymakers are particularly focused on advanced semiconductors and critical minerals that underpin computing infrastructure.

The broader US-China AI competition extends beyond the performance of individual AI models. It increasingly encompasses semiconductor manufacturing, computing infrastructure, energy, intellectual property, supply chains and the international standards that could shape how artificial intelligence is deployed.

Independent policy experts have also cautioned that describing the competition simply as an AI “race” can obscure important differences between the two countries’ technological strategies. US innovation relies heavily on private-sector investment, while Chinese development is more closely connected to state industrial planning and efforts to build technological self-reliance.

Countries could face difficult strategic choices

For countries with strong economic relationships with both Washington and Beijing, the emerging division could create significant diplomatic and commercial challenges.

Many governments depend on American technology companies and semiconductor ecosystems while simultaneously maintaining major trade, infrastructure and investment relationships with China.

The planned US warning therefore signals that the global AI competition may increasingly move beyond companies and research laboratories and into formal diplomatic alliances.

If implemented, Washington’s approach could accelerate the emergence of competing international technology blocs centred on the United States and China, potentially reshaping global cooperation over AI, semiconductors and other strategic technologies.