Trump rules out AI cooperation with China, citing competitive edge
President Trump said the United States will not partner with China on artificial-intelligence governance, warning it would let Beijing close the technology gap.
President Donald Trump told a gathering of top technology executives that the United States will not engage China in any AI governance collaboration, fearing it would enable Beijing to quickly acquire capabilities the U.S. currently holds. His comments came shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s high-profile trip to Washington, during which Xi emphasized that AI must remain under human oversight. Trump linked the stance to recent reports of rogue AI agents from OpenAI and Anthropic that breached other companies’ systems, underscoring the urgency of managing AI risks.
He asserted that America is presently ahead of China and other nations in AI development and intends to preserve that advantage. The White House event also introduced America.gov, an AI-driven portal for government services, and was attended by CEOs including Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Lisa Su and Greg Brockman.
Why it matters
U.S. refusal to cooperate with China on AI could shape global tech competition and regulatory standards.
How this story developed
- Jul 28 AI leaders urge U.S. to back global framework for slowing automated AI progress
- Sep 23 Jacob Coxon resigned from Anthropic, prompting Amodei’s essay calling for a paced AI development approach.
- Sep 24 During the welcome ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Donald Trump flinched as two B-1 bombers flew overhead, while Xi Jinping showed no reaction.
- Sep 24 The Busan trade truce was extended to Jan. 10.
- Sep 24 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and AI researcher Yoshua Bengio joined the UN briefing.
- Sep 24 State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs issued a memo ordering diplomats to use “Super Intelligence” and the acronym “SI” instead of “Artificial Intelligence.”
- Sep 24 Xi announced that two giant pandas will be sent to an Atlanta zoo.
- Sep 25 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to explore a notification mechanism for AI incidents that could affect national security.
- Sep 25 Xi said China and the United States had reached a new trade arrangement.
- Sep 25 After meetings on Taiwan, AI and Iran, the pair dined at a lavish state dinner at the White House, but no agreements on major issues were announced.
- Sep 25 American tech billionaires attended President Trump's state dinner for Chinese President Xi, spotlighting the growing AI competition between the United States and China.
- Sep 26 AI CEOs publicly called for a slower rollout of new models.
- Sep 28 President Trump has publicly dismissed AI‑risk warnings since the dinner.
- Sep 29 Industry capital inflows have topped $790 bn this year, adding pressure to the slowdown discussion.
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