US draft plan asks countries to pick one of the US-China AI alliances

Washington is preparing to tell more than 30 countries that participating in both Pax Silica and China's World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization is incompatible, according to reports of a draft US State Department letter dated August 15, 2026 AEST. Pax Silica is described as a 24-member framework for securing AI, semiconductor and critical-mineral supply chains. It remains a draft; no final official text or implementation has been confirmed.

If adopted, model, chip, cloud and research choices could become alliance markers. But a leaked draft should not be treated as a current procurement or export-control rule.