The Donald Trump administration is rallying allies including South Korea to gain the upper hand in artificial intelligence, a critical battleground in its strategic competition with China.
The US State Department announced Wednesday that it will host the first "Pax Silica" summit on Thursday with eight countries: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
The State Department described Pax Silica as "a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous and innovative silicon supply chain" encompassing critical minerals, energy, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure and logistics.
The name combines the Latin word "Pax," meaning peace, with "Silica," the semiconductor material. The term deliberately evokes "Pax Romana" and "Pax Americana," periods when the Roman Empire and the United States respectively dominated the world order.
The State Department said the US aims to "establish a robust economic order that guarantees an era of AI-driven prosperity for partner nations" through Pax Silica. It emphasized that "the United States is organizing a coalition of nations around the principle of building a secure, resilient and innovation-driven ecosystem across the global technology supply chain."
While Pax Silica's primary objective appears to be strengthening the AI supply chain through cooperation among like-minded nations, the initiative is seen as intended to counter China, which is rapidly catching up to and threatening the United States in AI and other advanced technologies. The State Department did not mention China directly in its press release but signaled that Beijing is in its sights.
The State Department said Pax Silica participants confirmed their shared commitment to "protect sensitive technologies and critical infrastructure from improper access or control by countries of concern," language interpreted as targeting China.
Pax Silica member countries are home to "the most important companies and investors powering the global AI supply chain" and are US allies. The State Department plans to expand membership going forward.
