A draft letter prepared by the United States Department of State indicates Washington plans to ask roughly 35 countries — primarily members of the Pax Silica framework and states interested in AI cooperation with the United States — to make a choice between the US-led initiative and parallel AI coalitions. Reuters reviewed the draft, which seeks to make clear that simultaneous participation in the two initiatives is not acceptable.
What is Pax Silica and who has joined?
Pax Silica was launched last year to secure supply chains for AI models, semiconductors and critical raw materials amid technological competition with China. To date, about two dozen countries have joined the framework, including Japan, Australia and South Korea, as well as Kazakhstan, a notable source of critical raw materials.
The draft letter, intended for 35 addressees, emphasizes that signing the Pax Silica Statement represents more than mere membership: it is an explicit commitment to the cooperation’s aims. The document urges recipients to “make a deliberate choice” in the AI domain, arguing that this commitment “cannot be sustained concurrently with membership in parallel initiatives whose expectations are at odds with ours” — although the draft does not name China explicitly.
What prompted the move?
Reuters says the immediate trigger was Kazakhstan’s decision: it has become the only country to join both the Chinese and the American AI initiatives. That dual membership has raised concern in Washington because parallel affiliations could create conflicting obligations.
Separately, Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, established the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization in July, which promotes China’s “open weight” AI technology as an alternative to American influence. The draft letter suggests such rival efforts could impose expectations incompatible with Pax Silica’s principles.
Status of the U.S. action and responses
Reuters was unable to determine when the letter might be sent or whether the final text will differ from the leaked draft. The United States Department of State declined to comment on the reportedly leaked internal document, while an anonymous US official confirmed the intent described in the draft.
Why this matters
By pressing partners to choose, the United States would push allies and partners to commit to a specific set of rules governing technology supply chains and AI development. Those decisions could affect long-term access to critical raw materials and semiconductors, shape conditions for global AI technology exchange, and deepen the geopolitical dimensions of technological competition.
Sources
The reporting is based on Reuters’ account. The article notes an illustrative cover image was used and that an AI assistant contributed to preparing the piece; the final content was edited and verified by a journalist.
