USA announced on Thursday a pact with allies to ensure the supply chains of minerals necessary in the field of artificial intelligence (IA), hoping to secure key resources as China takes the lead in this race.
Washington signed the agreement with countries in the Asia-Pacific region concerned about China’s growing influence, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia, as well as Israel.
Nicknamed “Pax Silica“, adapting the Latin terms for peace and silicon, a strategic material in AI, the partnership seeks to secure supply chains and ensure that countries are not dependent on China.
“Pax Silica is a new type of international partnership that seeks to unite countries that are home to the world’s most advanced technology companies to unleash the economic potential of the new era of AI,” a State Department statement said.
The United States, which signaled that other countries would join, was vague on practicalities.
“Pax Silicaultimately ensuring that these countries have reliable access to the inputs and infrastructure that determine competitiveness in AI,” said Jacob Helberg, Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs.
China has quickly assumed a dominant position in the race for resources in the rapidly growing area of AIand extracts about 70% of the main rare earths.
The signing in Washington occurs despite the fact that President Donald Trump announced this week that he will allow the export to China of Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence chips, reversing a decision by his predecessor Joe Biden, who expressed concern about national security.
Other countries that participated in the Washington meetings on supply chains, without formally joining Pax Silica, were the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the Netherlands and the European Union.
