At a Glance

• The United States and China are building competing AI alliances, pressuring other countries to choose one side.

• Kazakhstan is seeking membership in both blocs to attract investment and influence global AI standards.

• Indonesia, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia are also pursuing partnerships with both American and Chinese AI companies.

• Experts warn that countries without advanced domestic AI capabilities could have limited control over their technological futures.

As the United States and China compete for global influence in artificial intelligence, countries from Central Asia to Southeast Asia are seeking to benefit from both powers while avoiding commitments that could limit their access to technology, investment, and future AI development.

Key Statements and Focus Area

• Avoiding a Binary Choice: “We don’t want this binary choice.” — Dana Masalimova, former Kazakhstan diplomat and independent scholar, describing why countries are seeking to work with both AI powers

• Balancing AI Partnerships: “We should be able to be part of both; put it that way. And choose the best system.” — Mari Pangestu, vice chair of Indonesia’s National Economic Council, on engaging with both countries.

• AI Sovereignty: “Every country in the world in some way or another is thinking about AI sovereignty.” — Aalok Mehta, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

• Focus Area: Countries are weighing access to advanced American chips and AI systems against China’s more affordable open-source technologies as competition between the two powers intensifies.

Kazakhstan Seeks to Bridge the Divide

Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country of about 21 million people, has emerged as an example of a government pursuing cooperation with both AI blocs. In June, AI Minister Zhaslan Madiyev visited Washington to join the US-led Pax Silica initiative, which aims to strengthen AI supply chains. Three weeks later, he travelled to Shanghai to launch China’s World AI Cooperation Organization, which Kazakhstan joined as a founding member.

Participation in Pax Silica could bring technological partnerships, advanced manufacturing jobs, and access to international supply chains. Through China’s initiative, alongside 28 other founding countries, Kazakhstan hopes to help shape regional and global AI standards.

The country has resources that support AI development, including critical minerals and relatively inexpensive electricity for data centers. Earlier this year, its government signed an investment deal worth up to $10 billion involving Nvidia to develop a data center valley.

Chinese investment is also increasing. Local officials said Chinese foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan reached a record $2.8 billion in 2025. Chinese President Xi Jinping met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in July to expand cooperation under Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Masalimova described Kazakhstan’s position as precarious because it is trying to benefit from both powers while navigating their increasingly competitive relationship.

Washington and Beijing Compete for Influence

The US and China are using access to AI technology to strengthen their international influence, but their approaches differ.

The US government has accused Chinese companies of large-scale AI model distillation, in which capabilities are extracted from advanced models. Beijing has rejected the allegations and accused Washington of seeking a monopoly over AI while restricting China’s access to advanced chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

The US State Department has warned that countries participating in Pax Silica cannot simultaneously support initiatives advancing a competing vision for superintelligence. China, meanwhile, promotes its World AI Cooperation Organization as an open and inclusive alternative.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Washington said, “As both major countries in AI, China and the United States should leverage respective strengths in AI rather than guarding against each other.” It added: “AI should not be owned by major countries.”

Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center, said China needs to court other countries to build an alternative coalition, while the US already has an extensive network of allies. This gives countries that maintain relationships with both sides greater room to negotiate, he said.

Other Countries Pursue Multiple Partnerships

Indonesia has joined China’s AI organization while seeking to attract investment and benefit from American technology. Its deposits of nickel and copper also make it relevant to supply chains for AI and other advanced technologies.

Singapore is attracting investment from US AI companies, including Anthropic, which is establishing an Asia office there. The city-state is also considering joining China’s AI organization.

Saudi Arabia is pursuing both approaches. AI startup Humain unveiled a platform built on an open model from a Chinese AI company, while the kingdom has also reached a deal with Nvidia to expand AI computing using advanced chips.

France is developing its own AI capabilities through startup Mistral. Japan remains closely aligned with the US on advanced semiconductors, trusted AI, and standards, but is not ruling out more affordable Chinese models for lower-risk uses, according to Takahiro Tsuchiya, a professor at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.

Advanced AI Remains Concentrated

Countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany have significant economic and military resources but lack domestically developed frontier AI models comparable to those produced by the leading US and Chinese companies. Analysts Anton Leicht and Sam Winter-Levy of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace say access to data centers and chip agreements may therefore depend on decisions made in Washington and Beijing.

China has narrowed parts of the technological gap with the US in AI models and chipmaking, although the source says it still trails the most advanced American capabilities.

Its open-source approach can give other countries alternatives to US technology. Research fellow Alberto Lemma of ODI Global said China has also provided funding to developing countries seeking to build their own AI ecosystems.

According to research lab AidData at William & Mary, China has provided official-sector grants and loans for projects using or enabling AI technologies in at least 77 low- and middle-income countries. Recipients include Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, Bangladesh, Senegal, Cameroon, and Kenya.

Despite these alternatives, many countries face limits on their ability to develop the most advanced AI models independently. Mehta said countries are weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each technology ecosystem as they seek greater control over their own AI development.

FYI

Pax Silica is a US-led initiative focused on strengthening supply chains for AI and related technologies. China’s World AI Cooperation Organization seeks to expand international cooperation around AI. Participation in either initiative can influence countries’ access to technology, investment, and opportunities to shape emerging standards.

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