The United States is reportedly preparing a message to 35 allied and partner countries participating in the artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain consortium, restricting simultaneous participation in the Chinese-led AI system. South Korea is also included in the list of signatories to the U.S.-led AI Opportunity Statement.
Fortune reported on the 17th that the U.S. State Department is preparing a letter to the 35 signatory countries, stating that they cannot participate in both the U.S.-led Pax Silica and the competing Chinese AI system. The original text of the letter and whether it has been sent have not been confirmed through public documents.
The numbers confirmed in public documents are threefold. The U.S. State Department stated in a June 26 report that nearly 36 Pax Silica economic zone countries have signed the AI Opportunity Statement. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 35 countries and regions signed a joint statement at the second Pax Silica summit held in Washington on June 25-26.
The number of signatories to the Pax Silica declaration differs from this. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted during the same period that Vice Minister Kim Jin-ah attended the summit and publicly discussed stabilizing the AI supply chain between South Korea and the U.S., listing 24 member countries of Pax Silica. In this context, the 35 countries refer not to the Pax Silica declaration countries but to the signatories of the AI Opportunity Statement.
Pax Silica is a U.S.-led consortium focused on AI and semiconductor supply chains. It aims to build a reliable supply chain by integrating critical minerals, energy inputs, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics. This is not just an issue of AI model performance or ethical norms, but rather an industrial security agenda that includes access to data centers and semiconductors.
China launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) in Shanghai in July. Xinhua reported that 29 countries signed the WAICO founding agreement. Reuters reported that Kazakhstan is the only country to have its name listed in both the U.S. and Chinese systems.
This structure is closer to supply chain alignment than competition over AI norms. This is because advanced semiconductor export controls, critical mineral procurement, cloud infrastructure, and access to AI models are treated as a bundle. It remains publicly unconfirmed whether the U.S. message will lead to actual trade restrictions or participation in export controls by various countries.
The White House has also signaled a similar policy direction. On June 26, the White House issued an executive order directing the Secretary of State to recommend aligning existing bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including Pax Silica, with U.S. AI priorities. The White House's push for closed-loop frontier AI pre-review and this discussion are part of a broader trend of elevating AI access to diplomatic and security agendas.
The U.S. message to China has already become more assertive. Reuters reported that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed diplomats to downplay the controversy over the "kill switch" of U.S. technology and actively defend U.S.-made AI products. This is seen as a response to growing concerns about technological dependence among allies following the controversy over restrictions on access to U.S. AI models.
The public reactions from allied countries are aligned with expanding cooperation. Japan explained this as strengthening cooperation in AI-related supply chains, while South Korea emphasized stabilizing supply chains among reliable partners. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also publicly announced its participation in the summit, highlighting the deepening of AI and technology partnerships with the U.S.
The opposing logic is also clear. China presents WAICO as a framework for inclusive global governance and shared AI development. The more the U.S. demands choices from its allies, the more China can strengthen its counter-narrative by emphasizing open-source models and support for developing countries.
Hugging Face reported in its spring 2026 open-source AI report that China's AI ecosystem has rapidly grown in model release and adoption. The same report noted that Alibaba's Qwen derivative models outnumber those of Google and Meta combined. Whether diplomatic pressure will directly change the actual adoption trends in the developer ecosystem remains a separate issue.
For South Korea, the options extend beyond diplomatic phrasing. The AI supply chain is intertwined with semiconductors, data centers, power, cloud, and procurement of critical materials. South Korean companies must weigh both technological access and market accessibility between the U.S. AI infrastructure ecosystem and the Chinese manufacturing and development ecosystem.
This publication previously reported that the U.S. was considering pressuring 35 countries to choose a public AI supply chain route. At that time, the key issues were the expansion of Pax Silica and the signing of the AI Opportunity Statement by the 35 countries. This report indicates a follow-up trend, as the discussion has evolved into the issue of restricting simultaneous participation with the Chinese-led WAICO.
Currently confirmed figures are 35 countries/regions for the AI Opportunity Statement, 24 countries for the Pax Silica declaration, and 29 countries for WAICO. The status of the U.S. letter dispatch and the actual responses from various countries can only be confirmed through public documents or official announcements.
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