Science & Tech · AI · 1 hr ago
Kazakhstan joins US- and China-led AI groups as countries weigh sides
The United States and China are building rival groups around artificial intelligence, and other countries are trying to benefit from both.
Kazakhstan joined the US-led Pax Silica and became a founding member of China’s World AI Cooperation Organization, or WAICO, within weeks of each other.
The Central Asian country wants US technology partnerships and access to global supply chains, while seeking a voice in setting AI standards through WAICO.
It also has minerals used in AI development and cheap electricity for data centers, and a deal involving Nvidia could bring up to $10 billion to build a data center project.
Chinese investment in Kazakhstan reached a record $2.8 billion in 2025, according to local officials.
Both groups could bring investment and influence, but US officials have warned that countries engaging with competing initiatives may not be trusted partners in Pax Silica.
Experts say the choice between the blocs may narrow as Washington and Beijing use AI to expand their global influence.
Kazakhstan has joined both the U.S.-led Pax Silica and China’s World AI Cooperation Organization, seeking to benefit from both AI groupings.
AI minister Zhaslan Madiyev visited Washington in June and went to Shanghai three weeks later for a signing ceremony.
The two blocs offer different advantages, with the U.S. associated with advanced chips and technologies and China with more affordable, open-source AI systems.
Experts say countries may have less freedom to remain between the two AI powers as their rivalry intensifies.
Kazakhstan is attracting investment from both countries but is in a “very precarious spot,” according to former diplomat Dana Masalimova.
- Who
- Kazakhstan, including its AI minister, Zhaslan Madiyev.
- What
- Kazakhstan joined the U.S.-led Pax Silica and became a founding member of China’s World AI Cooperation Organization.
- When
- Madiyev visited Washington in June and went to Shanghai three weeks later. The articles do not state the year of those visits.
- Where
- Washington and Shanghai; Kazakhstan is the country joining both groups.
- Why
- Kazakhstan is seeking to benefit from both groupings and have a voice in setting regional and global AI standards.
United States
China
AI bloc
United States
Pax Silica is described as focused on strengthening AI supply chains and limited to trusted partners.
China
The World AI Cooperation Organization is presented by Beijing as open and inclusive.
AI access
United States
U.S. officials and companies accuse China of extracting capabilities from American AI models, and Washington has restricted China’s access to some advanced chips and chipmaking machinery.
China
Beijing rejects the accusations and says the U.S. is pursuing an AI monopoly; it says the two powers should use their strengths rather than guard against each other.
Kazakhstan’s AI minister, Zhaslan Madiyev, visited Washington to join the U.S. group working to strengthen AI supply chains.
Madiyev went to Shanghai for a signing ceremony making Kazakhstan a founding member of China’s AI initiative.
Kazakhstan’s government signed an investment deal worth up to $10 billion involving Nvidia to build a data center valley.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to expand cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Local officials said Chinese foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan reached a record $2.8 billion.
- U.S.-led group
- Pax Silica
- China-led group
- World AI Cooperation Organization
- Kazakhstan’s population
- About 21 million
- Founding membership
- Kazakhstan joined China’s initiative alongside 28 other initial founding countries
- Nvidia investment deal
- Up to $10 billion
- Chinese investment in Kazakhstan
- Record $2.8 billion in 2025
3 sources
What people are saying
Everyone is hedging
We don’t want this binary choice
Countries can’t be trusted partners in Pax Silica while substantively engaging in initiatives that advance a competing vision for super intelligence
AI should not be owned by major countries