China's AI progress strains U.S. alliance pitch

According to Axios, the State Department this week expanded Pax Silica, its initiative to build a U.S.-led AI and semiconductor supply chain. The move comes as China's cheaper, open-source AI models are gaining ground in the Global South, threatening American dominance in AI exports. The challenge isn't that Chinese models are better — they just have to be available, useful, and widely adopted. And they're also cheaper. China is offering both the models and underlying infrastructure at little or no cost, building what experts call a Huawei strategy on steroids, where countries become locked into Chinese technology that won't interoperate with American systems. According to analysts quoted by Axios, the problem is inconsistent U.S. export controls. The industry is frozen in place waiting for a more coherent policy — while China moves as fast as possible. Thirty-five countries have now signed the Declaration on AI Opportunity, but U.S. allies are walking a tightrope, wanting American technology while also pursuing digital sovereignty. The bottom line: Washington faces a bigger challenge than staying ahead on frontier AI. It needs to convince the world to actually use it.

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