US, allies sign declaration to shield AI supply chains from China

The United States and a group of allied governments have signed a declaration to jointly protect the supply chains that underpin artificial intelligence, as Washington moves to counter China's influence over the technology and days before a high-stakes leaders' summit.

According to a Financial Times report syndicated by Yahoo News, the United States, Japan, Australia, Israel and the United Kingdom agreed to establish a joint list of critical technologies and supply chains supporting AI that require greater protection. Jacob Helberg, the U.S. under secretary of state for economic affairs, told the FT that South Korea, India, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also signed.

Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the European Commission are expected to sign the declaration next week, Helberg said.

What the declaration says

The text, published by the State Department, affirms that "a reliable supply chain is indispensable to our mutual economic security" and that "trustworthy systems are essential to safeguarding our mutual security and prosperity."

Signatories encourage cooperation across "strategic stacks of the global technology supply chain," including frontier foundation models, compute and semiconductors, minerals refining, advanced manufacturing, transportation logistics and energy. The declaration states that economic security is fundamental to national security and calls for stronger protections against the theft or unauthorized transfer of technologies that could give military or intelligence advantages to hostile actors.

Part of Pax Silica

The agreement is the latest piece of Pax Silica, which the State Department describes as its "flagship effort on Super Intelligence (SI) and supply chain security, advancing new economic security consensus among allies and trusted partners."

Helberg told the FT the list would help participating countries identify sensitive technologies and infrastructure needed to develop what President Donald Trump has called "super intelligence," and to share information on where supply chains should be diversified.

The initiative builds on earlier outreach. Helberg told Bloomberg in December 2025 that the U.S. would open talks with eight allied nations — Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the U.K., Israel, the UAE and Australia — on agreements covering chips and critical minerals.

Timing and tensions

The declaration lands as Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shenzhen, China. Washington has accused Beijing of failing to meet commitments under a trade truce the two leaders reached in late 2025.

While the FT reported the accord as aimed at countering China's influence, it did not disclose when signatories formally signed or the full list of participating governments.