Key facts
- Kazakhstan became a founding member of China's World AI Cooperation Organisation alongside 28 other founding countries, including Pakistan and Russia.
- Kazakhstan signed an investment agreement worth up to $10 billion involving Nvidia to develop a data center hub, according to the report.
- Local officials said Chinese foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan reached a record $2.8 billion in 2025.
- Dana Masalimova, a former Kazakh diplomat, said countries facing the US-China AI split are hedging rather than choosing a side.
- The US State Department said countries cannot be trusted partners in Pax Silica while substantively engaging with a competing vision for superintelligence.
- China's embassy in Washington said AI should not be owned by major countries.
Kazakhstan's AI minister, Zhaslan Madiyev, joined a US-led initiative to strengthen AI supply chains during a visit to Washington in June, then traveled to Shanghai three weeks later, where Kazakhstan became a founding member of China's World AI Cooperation Organisation, according to the report.
The Chinese body has 28 other founding members, including Pakistan and Russia. Membership in the US-led Pax Silica initiative could bring Kazakhstan technological partnerships, high-tech manufacturing jobs and access to global AI supply chains, while the China-led group could give it a voice in shaping regional and international AI standards, according to the report.
Kazakhstan holds critical minerals used in AI development and offers relatively cheap electricity for data centers, the report said. Its government signed an investment agreement worth up to $10 billion involving Nvidia to develop a data center hub, and local officials said Chinese foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan reached a record $2.8 billion in 2025.
Dana Masalimova, a former Kazakh diplomat, said countries in Kazakhstan's position are hedging. "Everyone is hedging," she said, adding that they do not want a binary choice.
The US State Department said countries cannot be trusted partners in Pax Silica while substantively engaging in initiatives that advance a competing vision for superintelligence. China's embassy in Washington said AI should not be owned by major countries.