Pax Silica vs. WAICO: Countries torn between rival U.S. and Chinese AI blocs
The U.S. is courting nations for its Pax Silica AI alliance while China builds the World AI Cooperation Organization. Kazakhstan, Indonesia and others are trying to stay in both camps, AP reports.
Symbolic image · Photo: Rassim / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Two rival blocs are taking shape in the race for artificial intelligence: the U.S.-led Pax Silica group focused on AI supply chains, and the China-led World AI Cooperation Organization, or WAICO. Many countries are caught in between, according to an Associated Press report. The U.S. State Department said countries “can't be trusted partners in Pax Silica while substantively engaging in initiatives” that advance a competing vision for super intelligence.
Kazakhstan's AI minister, Zhaslan Madiyev, went to Washington in June to join Pax Silica and about three weeks later signed on in Shanghai as one of WAICO's 29 founding countries, a group that includes Pakistan and Russia. The Central Asian nation has an investment deal of up to $10 billion involving Nvidia to build a “data center valley,” while local officials say Chinese foreign direct investment hit a record $2.8 billion in 2025. “Everyone is hedging,” said former Kazakh diplomat Dana Masalimova.
Indonesia has also joined WAICO, and Singapore is considering membership. “We should be able to be part of both,” said Mari Pangestu, vice chair of Indonesia's National Economic Council. China has funded AI-related projects with official grants or loans in at least 77 low- and middle-income countries, according to AidData. China's embassy in Washington said AI “should not be owned by major countries.”