The U.S.-China AI standoff
President Donald Trump has officially shut down the idea of a joint venture with China to develop artificial intelligence. Speaking at the launch of America.gov—a new AI-powered web portal for federal services—Trump made it clear that the U.S. intends to play solo. His reasoning? He believes that collaborating with America's main economic rival is essentially "giving away secrets."
Despite recent diplomatic efforts, including a visit from President Xi Jinping to the White House last week where the two nations agreed to start an AI dialogue and set up a new communications channel for potential incidents, Trump is holding his ground. He claims the U.S. is "leading by a lot" in the sector and wants to keep it that way, noting that it's "all between us and China" for the top spot.
Shifting the narrative
Inside the White House, the vibe is all about self-regulation. Trump hosted a lunch with tech giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta, where he noted they signed a "morally binding" document meant to act as a shield against the tech's hazards. The administration is also set to name a "Super Intelligence Czar" soon. In a classic Trump move, he signed an executive order Tuesday to formally change the term "AI" to "Super Intelligence" in all government documents.
The domestic mood
While the White House is full steam ahead, the public is lowkey spiraling. A late September poll from Politico found that two out of three Americans think there’s a real risk AI could destroy humanity. Even 44% of Trump’s own base want to see development paused. Trump isn't sweating the anxiety, though—he’s highkey dismissing those concerns as a "hoax," comparing the rhetoric to the "global warming scam."
Why it matters
This marks a major split between international diplomatic attempts at AI cooperation and a domestic policy focused on aggressive, unregulated technological dominance. By branding AI as "Super Intelligence" and refusing to share development roadmaps with China, the administration is making it clear that the race for the next era of computing is currently a zero-sum game.
