Trump won’t put the brakes on AI because he wants to beat China. How big a threat is Beijing?
President Trump has signaled he will not slow down US AI development, prioritizing the competitive race against China over safety concerns. Meanwhile, China's leader Xi Jinping is advocating for international cooperation and open-source frameworks, highlighting a growing geopolitical divide in AI governance.
Why it matters
The divergent approaches to AI regulation between the world's two largest economies could lead to a fragmented global technology landscape and increased geopolitical tension.
Last weekend, as the world worried about the possibility of unconstrained artificial intelligence wiping out humanity, the leaders of the United States and China articulated their visions for the era-defining technology. They came from almost opposite sides of the spectrum. Brushing aside the calls from AI scientists and executives from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google to slow the development, US President Donald Trump said what was most important was keeping the US in the lead against China in the intensifying AI superpower race. “We’re leading China in AI…and frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI wins,” he said on Saturday. On Sunday, China’s leader Xi Jinping made his own call for more international cooperation.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in