The US wants the world to pick a side on AI. But for many countries, China’s pitch may be more compelling

The rapid advances of Chinese artificial intelligence over the past year seem to have alerted Washington to the real possibility that the world’s second-largest economy could pull ahead of the United States in an increasingly tight technology race.

“We’re leading China in AI…and frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI wins,” US President Donald Trump said earlier this month.

Trump’s comments underscore the stakes of a US-China tech competition that is increasingly being framed in existential terms. The US has an obvious edge, with pioneering AI labs, the most advanced chips and deep-pocketed investors. Leveraging that dominance, Washington is also forcing countries around the world to pick a side.

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