> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://bullquill.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Pax Silica explained: US AI bloc vs China's 29-nation WAICO - URL: https://bullquill.com/pax-silica-vs-china-ai-bloc-explained/ - Published: 2026-10-25T12:17:39.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T12:26:00.000Z - Description: Kazakhstan joined Pax Silica in late June 2026 and became a WAICO founding member three weeks later. Washington is now pressing partners to pick one side, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. - Author: Rowan Ashby - Tags: AI, Explainer, Trending, Pax Silica, World AI Cooperation Organization, China, Kazakhstan, Nvidia, #lang-en, #evergreen, #tr-pax-silica-vs-china-ai-bloc-explained ## Key takeaways - Pax Silica is a US State Department initiative, launched with a non-binding declaration in Washington on December 12, 2025, to secure supply chains for chips, AI infrastructure and critical minerals among "trusted" partners. - China's rival, the World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), was founded in Shanghai on July 16, 2026, when 29 countries signed its establishing agreement. - Kazakhstan has signed up to both: it joined Pax Silica at the second summit in Washington in late June 2026 and became a WAICO founding member three weeks later. - Washington is now pressing partners to pick one side, according to a draft State Department letter reported by Reuters and to the Associated Press. - Published membership lists differ between sources, so the counts below should be treated as approximate. Pax Silica is the US State Department's coalition for securing chip, AI infrastructure and critical-mineral supply chains, launched in Washington on December 12, 2025\. It now competes with China's World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO), founded by 29 countries on July 16, 2026, for the same partners. This explainer sets out what each bloc offers, who has joined which, where the membership lists conflict, and why several mid-sized economies are trying to stay in both camps. ## What is Pax Silica? Pax Silica began with the Pax Silica Declaration, a non-binding statement signed at an inaugural summit in Washington on December 12, 2025\. According to the State Department's launch language, as reported by the Press Trust of India, the aim is to "reduce coercive dependencies" and to build a secure silicon supply chain running from critical minerals and energy through semiconductors and AI infrastructure to logistics. The initiative lists flagship work areas rather than a treaty structure: connectivity and data infrastructure, compute and semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, logistics, mineral refining and processing, and energy. China is not named as the target, but the framing around "trusted allies" and single points of failure makes the intended contrast clear. ### Who leads it Jacob Helberg, the State Department's under secretary for economic affairs, is the public face of the initiative. He has announced most accessions and, at the second summit in June 2026, launched a "Foundry School" programme developed with Stanford University to train engineers and entrepreneurs from member countries, according to the Astana Times. ### The AI Opportunity statement A second, looser layer sits alongside the declaration. At the June 2026 summit, 35 countries signed a Joint Statement on AI Opportunity, according to Helberg's remarks reported by DTNext. The State Department said on October 1 that 19 more countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Morocco and Serbia, had endorsed it during the UN General Assembly week, bringing the total to 54, as reported by Morocco World News. Endorsing that statement is not the same as signing the Pax Silica Declaration itself. ## What is China's World AI Cooperation Organization? China first proposed WAICO at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. A year later, on July 16, 2026, representatives of 29 countries signed the agreement establishing it, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi signing for China, according to China Daily and Xinhua reports republished by Shanghai and Belt and Road government portals. WAICO is described as an independent intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Shanghai and guided by the purposes of the UN Charter. Its stated mission is to promote international cooperation and global governance on AI so that the technology develops in a beneficial, safe and equitable direction. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the signing ceremony. The pitch is different from Washington's. The AP reports that WAICO offers members a voice in setting regional and global AI standards, while China's embassy in Washington argues that "AI should not be owned by major countries." China also promotes open-source models, which some development researchers say reduce countries' dependence on US technology. ## Pax Silica vs WAICO at a glance | | Pax Silica | World AI Cooperation Organization | | ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Led by | US State Department | China (proposed by Beijing) | | Founded | December 12, 2025, Washington | July 16, 2026, Shanghai | | Legal form | Non-binding declaration | Intergovernmental organisation (founding agreement) | | Size | About 24 signatory economies (Reuters, August 2026); 54 endorsers of the separate AI Opportunity statement | 29 founding countries | | Main offer | Supply-chain partnerships, investment, manufacturing jobs, access to US technology | A voice in AI standards, open-source cooperation, development projects | | Headquarters | None; coordinated by the State Department | Shanghai | *Sources: AP, Reuters, China Daily, Xinhua, State Department remarks as reported by PTI and DTNext.* ## Who has joined which bloc The table below lists countries named in State Department remarks, Chinese government sources, or wire reports citing them. Neither side has published a full, consolidated membership list in the sources reviewed, so absence from the table does not mean a country has stayed out. | Country | Pax Silica | WAICO | | ------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | | United States | Founder (Dec 2025) | No | | Japan | Signatory (Dec 2025) | Not reported | | South Korea | Signatory (Dec 2025) | Not reported | | Singapore | Signatory (Dec 2025) | Reportedly considering (AP) | | United Kingdom, Australia, Israel | Signatories (Dec 2025) | Not reported | | Netherlands | Listed differently by source (see below) | Not reported | | Qatar, United Arab Emirates | Joined January 2026 | Not reported | | India | Joined February 2026 | Not reported | | Germany, Greece, EU | Joined June 2026 | Not reported | | Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama | Joined June 2026 | Not reported | | Italy | Joined July 2026 | Not reported | | Kazakhstan | Joined June 2026 | Founding member (July 2026) | | Serbia | Endorsed AI Opportunity statement (Sept 2026) | Founding member (July 2026) | | Indonesia | Not reported | Founding member (July 2026) | | Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Laos | No | Founding members (July 2026) | | Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela | Not reported | Founding members (July 2026) | *Sources: Xinhua and China Daily via yidaiyilu.gov.cn and english.shanghai.gov.cn; Reuters; AP; Astana Times; DTNext; Morocco World News. Data as of October 25, 2026.* ### Where the membership lists conflict - **The founding group.** A Press Trust of India report on launch day listed eight countries, including the Netherlands and the UAE. Other records, including the Australian government's list cited in public timelines, give seven founding signatories and show the Netherlands as a non-signing partner and the UAE joining in January 2026. - **The total.** Reuters counted 24 Pax Silica signatory economies in August 2026, a figure that includes the EU. Public timelines that add later entries such as El Salvador, Portugal and Estonia arrive at a higher number, and at least one, Estonia, is listed both as a signatory and as an observer. - **WAICO's 29.** Xinhua named Kazakhstan, Laos, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia. Reuters named Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Cuba, Brazil and Venezuela and said 10 African and 12 Asian countries signed. No source reviewed published all 29 names. ## Why Washington says countries must choose In August 2026, Reuters reported on an internal draft State Department letter addressed to the 35 original signatories of the AI Opportunity statement. According to that report, the letter warned that joining Chinese-led AI initiatives could cost a country its place in the US coalition, and argued that signing Pax Silica is a commitment rather than a membership subscription. The State Department declined to comment on what it called an allegedly leaked document. The AP reported on October 25 that the State Department says countries cannot be trusted partners while substantively engaging in initiatives that advance a competing vision for "super intelligence." Beijing rejects the framing: its embassy says the two countries should build on their strengths rather than guard against each other, and China accuses Washington of pursuing an AI monopoly through chip export controls. ## The countries hedging between the two ### Kazakhstan Kazakhstan is the clearest case of a country in both camps. Deputy Prime Minister Zhaslan Madiyev, who also serves as minister of artificial intelligence, signed the accession declaration in Washington in late June, citing investment and technology transfer in semiconductors, batteries and critical minerals processing, according to the Astana Times. Three weeks later he signed in Shanghai as a WAICO founder, the AP reports. Earlier in 2026 the government signed an investment deal worth up to $10 billion involving Nvidia for a data centre project, while local officials say Chinese direct investment reached a record $2.8 billion in 2025. ### Indonesia Indonesia, rich in nickel and copper, is a WAICO founding member. Mari Pangestu, vice chair of the National Economic Council, said at a University of Hong Kong event that Indonesia wants to be part of both systems and choose the best, according to the AP. ### Singapore Singapore was among the first Pax Silica signatories and hosts major US AI investment, including Anthropic's newest Asia office. The AP reports it is considering joining WAICO as well. ### Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia does not appear on either published list in the sources reviewed, but it is hedging in practice. Its state-backed AI company Humain unveiled a platform in September built on an open model from a Chinese developer, while the kingdom also has an agreement with Nvidia to expand computing with advanced chips, the AP reports. ### Japan Japan is a founding Pax Silica signatory and closely aligned with Washington on semiconductors and AI standards. Even so, Takahiro Tsuchiya of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies told the AP that Japan will not reject cheaper Chinese models for lower-risk applications. ## What it means The split matters most for countries with something both blocs want: critical minerals, cheap power for data centres, or large digital markets. For now, many of them gain leverage by staying open to both, a point Brookings scholar Kyle Chan made to the AP when he noted that Beijing needs third countries to build an alternative coalition while Washington already has a broad alliance network. That room may shrink. If the State Department formalises the choice described in the leaked draft, countries such as Kazakhstan and Serbia, which appear on both sides, would face the first real test. The US and China are also due to begin a bilateral "Super Intelligence Dialogue" in November, according to Morocco World News, which could ease or sharpen the pressure on third countries. For readers following the wider US-China technology contest, related coverage includes the [DeepSeek funding round](https://bullquill.com/deepseek-15-billion-funding-round/) and the [FCC's ban on devices with Chinese surveillance chips](https://bullquill.com/fcc-blocks-devices-chinese-surveillance-chips/), plus our topic pages on [China](https://bullquill.com/tag/china/) and [Nvidia](https://bullquill.com/tag/nvidia/). ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Pax Silica? Pax Silica is a US State Department initiative launched with a non-binding declaration on December 12, 2025\. It aims to secure supply chains for semiconductors, AI infrastructure, critical minerals and energy among trusted partner countries and to reduce coercive dependencies. ### Who leads Pax Silica? The initiative is led by Jacob Helberg, the State Department's under secretary for economic affairs, who has announced most of the new accessions. ### What is the World AI Cooperation Organization? The World AI Cooperation Organization (WAICO) is a China-proposed intergovernmental body headquartered in Shanghai. Its founding agreement was signed by 29 countries on July 16, 2026, with the stated aim of promoting international cooperation and global governance on AI. ### Which countries are in both Pax Silica and WAICO? Kazakhstan joined Pax Silica in June 2026 and became a WAICO founding member in July 2026\. Serbia is a WAICO founder and has endorsed the separate US-led AI Opportunity statement, though it has not been reported as a Pax Silica Declaration signatory. ## Sources - [AP via ClickOrlando: As the US and China form AI blocs, countries are increasingly torn between them (Oct 25, 2026)](https://www.clickorlando.com/business/2026/10/25/as-the-us-and-china-form-ai-blocs-countries-are-increasingly-torn-between-them/?ref=bullquill.com) - [Shanghai Municipal Government / China Daily: Agreement signed to establish World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization](https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-WAICHighlights/20260717/bf06ab51a50a43a58e1d1c63855df461.html?ref=bullquill.com) - [Belt and Road Portal / Xinhua: 29 countries sign agreement on establishing World AI Cooperation Organization](https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/p/0I68JM5D.html?ref=bullquill.com) - [Reuters: Twenty-nine countries sign agreement to establish global AI cooperation body (Jul 16, 2026)](https://www.internazionale.it/ultime-notizie-reuters/2026/07/16/twenty-nine-countries-sign-agreement-to-establish-global-ai-cooperation-body?ref=bullquill.com) - [unwire.hk, citing Reuters: US draft letter asks AI partners to pick sides (Aug 16, 2026)](https://unwire.hk/2026/08/16/us-china-ai-pick-sides-pax-silica/ai/?ref=bullquill.com) - [PTI via The Week: US announces new Pax Silica initiative (Dec 13, 2025)](https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/international/2025/12/13/fgn61-us-pax-silica.html?ref=bullquill.com) - [Astana Times: Kazakhstan joins US-led Pax Silica initiative (Jun 29, 2026)](https://astanatimes.com/2026/06/kazakhstan-joins-us-led-pax-silica-initiative-to-advance-ai-economy/?ref=bullquill.com) - [DTNext: 35 nations sign statement on AI opportunity at Pax Silica summit](https://www.dtnext.in/news/world/35-nations-including-india-sign-statement-on-ai-opportunity-at-pax-silica-summit-in-us?ref=bullquill.com) - [Morocco World News: Morocco joins US-led AI Opportunity Partnership (Oct 6, 2026)](https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2026/10/340853/morocco-joins-us-led-ai-opportunity-partnership-amid-washington-beijing-tech-rivalry/?ref=bullquill.com) - [Wikipedia: Pax Silica (accession timeline and cited official releases)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax%5FSilica?ref=bullquill.com)