State Department’s Jacob Helberg leads US AI diplomacy against China

The US has a new point person for its tech rivalry with China, and he’s betting that the best way to win an AI race is to make sure your opponent can’t control the track. Jacob Helberg, confirmed as Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs with a razor-thin 51-47 Senate vote on October 7, 2025, is now leading American diplomatic efforts to secure the supply chains that underpin artificial intelligence, from semiconductors to the rare earth elements that go into everything from data center hardware to advanced chips. The Pax Silica playbook Pax Silica, a nod to silicon’s centrality in the digital age, is a diplomatic framework designed to rally key allies around a shared goal: building AI supply chains that don’t run through Beijing. The coalition Helberg is assembling reads like a roster of countries that have reason to be nervous about Chinese economic leverage. Japan, South Korea, India, the UAE, and Australia are all targets for partnership under the initiative. The urgency became concrete in April 2025, when Beijing imposed export controls on seven essential elements, directly squeezing Japan and other US partners who depend on Chinese supplies. Helberg has pointed to thos...