Washington is preparing to tell 35 countries and regions that signed the AI Opportunity Statement that they may have to choose between the U.S.-led Pax Silica coalition and China's World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, or WAICO. A draft State Department letter reviewed by Reuters says countries that join Beijing's rival framework could be excluded from Pax Silica, a U.S. initiative launched last year that now has 25 signatories and covers AI models, chips, critical minerals, energy and advanced manufacturing. The move would deepen U.S. efforts to build an allied AI supply chain and limit China's role in it. Beijing launched WAICO in July with 29 founding countries while promoting open-weight AI models, training and cooperation centers in developing economies. Kazakhstan, a key source of critical minerals, is the only known country to have joined both efforts, and China has pushed back, saying trade and technology issues should not be politicized and warning such steps would hinder global AI development.