Trump's Tech Aide Confronting China: Who Is Jacob Helberg?

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg is rallying Washington’s allies against China, placing technology, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, and supply chains at the heart of this competition.

At the State Department, Helberg leads the 'Pax Silica' initiative, aimed at reducing dependence on China in supply chains for essential minerals used in advanced technologies.

In May, Norway signed the 'Pax Silica' declaration in the historic Treaty Chamber at the State Department, attended by over 30 diplomats, government officials, and staff, with Helberg and Norway’s ambassador to the United States, Anikken Høytfeld, present.

The initiative has rapidly evolved into a coalition of 24 countries, including the European Union, Chile, and Kazakhstan, according to Politico.

Helberg urges these nations to swiftly cooperate with the United States to confront what he calls Beijing’s "systematic arming" of global supply chains.

'Pax Silica' Against Chinese Influence

Helberg believes China leverages its dominance over rare earth minerals through export restrictions, impacting U.S. defense and civilian manufacturing sectors.

His initiative seeks to end this dependency and stimulate joint research, development, and manufacturing of advanced technologies between the United States and its allies and partners.

Kazakhstan, rich in minerals, faces pressure in this context after joining a rival alliance launched by Beijing in July.

Reuters reported that the U.S. State Department was on the verge of warning Kazakhstan and other participants in 'Pax Silica' against joining duplicate initiatives conflicting with U.S. expectations—potentially affecting neighboring Uzbekistan as well.

Helberg is 36 years old, born in France, and one of the youngest senior officials at the State Department. He gained experience over more than a decade in Silicon Valley, including roles at Google and Palantir Technologies, where he advised CEO Alex Carpentier.

Helberg says technology represents the core of global competition, arguing that whoever leads in technology is likely to lead economically and militarily as well.

From Silicon Valley to the State Department

Helberg’s rise reflects the growing influence of the tech sector within the Trump administration. Alongside him, other tech figures have emerged, including Sriram Krishnan, former White House Chief Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence, who recently left office; David Sacks, former Special Advisor to President Donald Trump on AI and cryptocurrencies, and current Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Helberg views his Silicon Valley ties as central to his mission. In 2018, he married venture capitalist Keith Rabois in a ceremony hosted by Sam Altman and attended by Silicon Valley elite.

He had personally invested in tech companies before a 70-page financial disclosure report revealed he sold millions in investments in firms including OpenAI, Palantir, Tesla, and Meta during December 2025 and January 2026.

According to the report, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics concluded that Helberg "complied with applicable laws and regulations."

Helberg rejects concerns about closeness between tech giants and the White House, seeing the presence of industry figures in government as addressing what he describes as a "communication gap" between Washington and Silicon Valley—a gap he argues has weakened U.S. competitiveness against Beijing.

Roots of His Stance on Europe and China

Helberg was born in 1989 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris, hours after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He is the son of a French mother and American father, spent formative years in France and Belgium, while spending summers in Ohio with his father’s family.

He says these years instilled in him a "belief in American exceptionalism" and a stronger sense of belonging to America than to Europe. He moved to the United States in 2008 at age 18 to pursue higher education.

After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Helberg says he became a target of what he described as "anti-American sentiment" among teachers and peers in France, defending George W. Bush’s policies in school debates.

Later, he grew increasingly critical of European policies and bureaucracy, denouncing in a speech in Brussels the "Caligulan bureaucracy" of the European Union and a "civilizational emergency" facing Europe due to its failure to adopt digital technology.

Technology and National Security Experience

After graduating from George Washington University with a degree in international relations, Helberg began working in Silicon Valley. He held roles at two startups before leading Google’s Global Research Policy team in 2016, gaining experience dealing with foreign governments, regulatory issues, and technology policy.

He left Google following employee protests over Project Maven, which involved the company collaborating with the Pentagon, alongside a failed attempt to re-enter the Chinese market.

Subsequently, Helberg focused on the intersection of technology and Chinese national security threats, serving as Senior Advisor at Stanford’s Center for Geopolitics and Technology, then as Co-Chair of the China Strategy Task Force at the Brookings Institution and the U.S.-France China Working Group.

In 2022, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appointed Helberg for two years to the Committee on Review of Economic and Security Relations between the United States and China. During his tenure, his view of China solidified as predatory and exploitative, though some colleagues criticized his focus on technology and questioned the depth of his knowledge on China compared to his technical expertise.

Helberg’s roles at Palantir and the committee provided a platform for his campaign against TikTok. Between 2023 and 2024, he met with dozens of Congress members, attempting to persuade them to pass legislation banning the app—efforts praised by Representative Katie Camak, who called them decisive in passing bipartisan legislation in 2024.

Trump delayed the ban five times the following year until an agreement was reached to transfer ownership of the app to American owners, while national security experts and lawmakers continued questioning whether the app’s algorithm and U.S. users remain vulnerable to Chinese government influence.

Politically, Helberg shifted from Democratic leanings to supporting Trump. According to Forbes, he donated to Democratic candidates in 2020 but joined the Republican Party by 2020, stating the Democratic Party abandoned its core principles, including free expression and free trade.

Helberg says he became a Republican due to the Covid pandemic, while events of October 7, 2023, made him an "unwavering" supporter of Trump, linking his stance to the president’s response to Hamas’s attack on Israel.

24 Countries and a Long Standoff with China

Since assuming office in October, Helberg has secured participation from 24 countries in 'Pax Silica'—a rebranded version of the Biden administration’s mineral security partnership, now refocused on "mutual economic security" and cooperation against "non-market policies and practices."

Over the past year, Helberg traveled to more than 18 countries and met with leaders from over 40 nations. In May, his efforts took him to South America to strengthen U.S. access to bauxite reserves in Guyana, then to Southeast Asia to sign an agreement with the Philippines establishing a 4,000-acre "economic security zone" for AI-related manufacturing.

Helberg sees the declaration as a first step toward joint projects in R&D, manufacturing, investment in infrastructure, countering China’s Belt and Road Initiative. He says participating nations in 'Pax Silica' could become, for the AI era, what the G7 was for the industrial age.

Yet the initiative faces gaps: it excludes France and Canada, potentially reflecting the foreign and trade policies of the Trump administration, including tariffs and threats related to Greenland.

One expert described the announcement as symbolic for now, noting there are no binding commitments tied to signing.

Helberg does not see this as an obstacle. By 2027, he aims to see signed agreements, projects underway, and funds invested. He is developing three initiatives, including 'Pax Pass,' a shipping platform targeting delivery of goods essential for AI development, requiring initial funding of $50 million.

He also collaborates with Stanford University to create a "forge school" to train technicians from 'Pax Silica' member nations in advanced manufacturing.

Helberg says new markets will emerge in coming years, reinforcing, in his view, the need to establish supply chains and manufacturing lines for advanced technological resources impervious to Chinese interference.