By Frances F. Townsend and Michael J. Morell:
China is mobilizing government, industry, and infrastructure behind AI leadership. America risks falling behind without a similarly coordinated national strategy.
When President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24, the most consequential issue on the agenda won’t be tariffs or trade. It will be artificial intelligence (AI).
Throughout history, nations that led in the industries of the future—from steel to aviation to the internet—built stronger economies, stronger militaries, and greater global influence. AI is the next chapter. In our combined 60 years assessing threats to America’s national security and advising presidents, we’ve learned an enduring lesson: when Beijing identifies a strategic priority, it mobilizes the entire nation behind it to become the global leader. AI is now that priority for China.
China’s Diplomatic and Domestic Push for AI Leadership
Consider the past two weeks. Twenty-nine nations signed an agreement establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), headquartered in Shanghai. The next day, President Xi Jinping became the first Chinese leader to personally open Shanghai’s World AI Conference, where he announced the new body and pledged 5,000 AI training slots for developing countries. This November, he will host the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies (nearly half the world’s economic output) in Shenzhen, where AI is on the agenda.
At first glance, WAICO sounds constructive. Cooperation among major powers is often desirable. But this is about more than cooperation. It is about which country writes the rules and whose technology gets embedded in the world’s digital infrastructure for decades to come.
Every international institution reflects the priorities of the country that shapes it. America’s postwar institutions largely reflected openness, free markets and democratic values. A global AI body led by Beijing will favor standards aligned with the Chinese Communist Party, whose own use of AI includes censorship, mass surveillance and political control. President Trump should welcome cooperation where our interests align, but he should not endorse any institution or agenda built to prioritize Beijing’s designs for the AI age.
China’s diplomatic campaign follows an extraordinary domestic mobilization. China’s AI+ initiative aligns ministries, provinces, universities, state-owned banks and thousands of companies behind a single AI strategy. The results are already visible.
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