China and the US Are Racing to Rule AI — and Neither Side Is Slowing Down
Trump and Xi meet as China builds data centers "at China speed," unveils 11 new AI chips, and rejects US calls to hit the brakes.
When US President Donald Trump personally welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the airport on Thursday, the message was clear: the world's two largest economies want to talk. But the friendly gesture could not hide the real tension between them. Artificial intelligence (AI) — computer systems that can perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence — is now the main battleground, and both sides are racing to lead [248267][248560].
China is entering the talks from a position of strength. Analysts say Xi is "in the driver's seat," while Trump approaches from a weaker position. Limited, targeted agreements are still possible, but a major breakthrough is unlikely [245178].
China is not waiting for talks to produce results. In Inner Mongolia, the country is building large data centers — facilities that house powerful computers and store huge amounts of information — at what experts call "China speed" to expand the computing power needed for AI development [248290]. Huawei has also announced 11 new AI chips designed to challenge Nvidia, Intel, and AMD, the leading makers of AI processors worldwide. The chips are built for AI training, which means teaching a model to recognize patterns, and inference, which means using that trained model to answer questions or make decisions [243759].
Washington has warned that advanced AI carries serious risks and has urged a slower, coordinated approach. Beijing rejected that idea outright. China's Foreign Ministry said "fear-mongering, confrontation and fierce competition will only disrupt the global governance of AI." Analysts say Beijing views AI as a "core sovereignty capability" and sees US calls for caution as an attempt to lock in America's advantage [248039].
That does not mean China ignores safety. This week, it published the third version of its AI safety governance framework, covering risks from AI agents, cybersecurity threats, and "recursive self-improvement" — a still-hypothetical situation where AI becomes advanced enough to improve itself. One researcher noted there is "more common ground than people might assume" between Chinese officials and US safety advocates — a sharp contrast with Trump, who has called fears that AI could destroy humanity a "sick conspiracy" [248039].
China's centralized authority over critical infrastructure means it may be better placed than the US to handle an AI-related disaster, according to one analyst. But Chinese companies do less voluntary monitoring and evaluation than US firms, and neither government seems ready for a loss-of-control incident [248039].
Meanwhile, AI is spreading fast through daily life in China. The digital health service A-fu, which offers AI chatbot versions of prominent doctors trained on real clinical studies, has reached 150 million users. As one tech editor put it, most people see AI as "an already useful everyday tool, not an abstract threat" [248039].
The summit between Trump and Xi will cover cybersecurity, AI, and Taiwan, according to analysts. Each issue carries major consequences for both countries and the wider world. But with both sides dug in, expect modest steps — not a breakthrough [248469][245178].