Trump Rejects AI Cooperation With Xi, Stoking U.S.-China Tech Rivalry

Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently reiterated in an interview with foreign media that he will not cooperate with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Trump pointed out that if the United States and China were to consult with each other in the AI sector, it could cause U.S. companies to lose their first-mover advantage in product research and development, making it difficult to launch AI systems more advanced than those of their Chinese competitors. These remarks highlight America's strategic anxiety in the global AI race and reflect the deep-seated confrontation between the two nations in high-tech fields.

Since 2020, the U.S. and China have continuously vied for supremacy in key technologies such as semiconductors, 5G, and quantum computing. The U.S. government has successively used export control regulations to restrict the export of advanced chips and related equipment to China, while promoting independently formulated norms for AI ethics and safety standards. In contrast, China has accelerated the building of the "AI+" industrial chain, injected massive funds to support domestic enterprises, and made significant progress in application areas such as smart cities, medical imaging, and speech recognition. The pace of technological development and policy orientation of both sides have made AI governance a new focal point of diplomatic and economic friction.

Trump's stance echoes the "America First" policy he championed during his presidency. At that time, he imposed tariffs on China citing trade imbalances and demanded that U.S. companies maintain a dominant position in global supply chains. His recent rejection of AI cooperation essentially extends his wariness of China's technological rise and attempts to use policy barriers to protect the innovation space of U.S. companies. Analysts point out that if the United States lacks international cooperation in setting AI standards, it may face the risks of technological fragmentation and declining industrial competitiveness in the future.

However, the global characteristics of AI technology make a completely closed strategy difficult to implement. The training of large language models requires massive data and computing power, and relying solely on a nation's own resources struggles to match the efficiency and scale of transnational cooperation. There is an increasingly urgent need for international consensus on AI ethics, privacy protection, and algorithmic transparency. If the U.S. and China continue to confront each other, other countries may seek a balance in standard-setting or even form a multipolar technological governance framework. Such a scenario would not only impact the market share of U.S. companies but could also weaken America's dominant voice in global technology governance.

From an industrial perspective, U.S. AI giants such as Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI already lead in model scale and application diversity, but they are simultaneously facing challenges of brain drain and soaring R&D costs. If the U.S. and China lack dialogue at the policy level, research teams in both countries may operate in silos, leading to duplicate investments and reduced efficiency in technological iteration. In the long run, only under a framework of fair competition and moderate cooperation can the secure development of AI technology and the maximization of economic benefits be ensured.

In summary, Trump's remarks once again underscore the zero-sum game between the U.S. and China in the AI field, reflecting America's dilemma between maintaining technological leadership and preventing competitors from catching up. If both sides continue to stubbornly pursue independent paths in the future, it may exacerbate the fragmentation of global AI governance and have profound impacts on the international industrial chain and innovation environment.