The US-China race and rivalry over artificial intelligence

Active · last development Sep 26: “China and the US agree to set up a new AI safety channel, and to keep talking on trade, military”

What this arc covers

The US and China are competing to advance AI capabilities while accusing each other of technology theft and grappling with shared safety concerns. Both countries are seeking cooperation on AI governance even as they view each other as primary rivals.

Photo from Hawaiitribune Herald, with US and China release $60 billion nonsensitive product lists for tariff cuts after Trump-Xi meeting (Sep 25), the story with the most independent sources this week.

Earliest story we hold Apr 23, 2026 · 22 stories · 91 independent sources (counted once each) · 156 days

Part ofPeople's Republic of ChinaDonald TrumpTrump-Xi SummitScott BessentBeijingXi JinpingOpenAINvidia

Part of Artificial intelligence

  1. DeepSeek's shock to Nvidia and the US AI industry in January 2025Jan 27 – Feb 24, 2025
  2. Nvidia's fight to sell advanced AI chips to ChinaApr 15, 2025 – Jan 14, 2026
  3. The backlash against AI data centers and their power and water costsJan 13 – Sep 24, 2026
  4. The Pentagon's fight with Anthropic over AI safeguardsFeb 24 – Sep 25, 2026
  5. The 2026 warnings over AI's risks and calls to slow it downApr 8 – Sep 28, 2026
  6. The US-China race and rivalry over artificial intelligenceThis arcApr 23 – Sep 26, 2026

Where it standsnewest first · each bar runs left to right by leaning

Sep 26– 27China and the US agree to set up a new AI safety channel, and to keep talking on trade, military28 articles · 26 independent sources
1 left, 7 center, 1 right
Sep 25– 29US and China release $60 billion nonsensitive product lists for tariff cuts after Trump-Xi meeting71 articles · 48 independent sources
10 left, 9 center, 8 right
Sep 24– 27China State Media Says US Shares Responsibility for Managing AI5 articles · 4 independent sources
3 left, 1 center, 0 right

Key momentsthe most covered; every story is below

  1. Jul 16 – 23China’s Kimi K3 and the rise of open-weight AI models46 articles · 31 independent sources
    1. Jul 16China's open-weight Kimi model stuns AI world with frontier-level results
    2. Jul 17Only center coverage:Chinese AI model takes U.S. tech industry by surprise with abilities rivaling Claude and ChatGPT
    3. Jul 17Only right-leaning coverage:China’s newest AI model triggers ‘code red’ for American AI
    4. Jul 20China's new AI model halts new subscriptions as demand swamps capacity
    5. Jul 21Chinese model Kimi 3 adds pressure on Trump administration's AI policy
  2. Sep 8 – 10US claims Chinese AI firms are carrying out ‘industrial-scale’ theft of trade secrets30 articles · 28 independent sources
  3. Sep 11 – 15China bristles at Anthropic CEO’s ‘fearmongering’ about its AI development74 articles · 44 independent sources
    1. Sep 11Trump dismissed warnings that AI could wipe out humanity, saying beating China is the real risk
    2. Sep 13Trump dismisses calls for AI slowdown from leading tech CEOs
    3. Sep 13Beijing hits back at Anthropic CEO’s call to curb China's AI development
    4. Sep 14China dismisses AI slowdown calls and blasts ‘fearmongering’ from U.S. tech leaders
    5. Sep 14Only center coverage:Trump: 'I'm not downplaying' AI risks
  4. Sep 25 – 29US and China release $60 billion nonsensitive product lists for tariff cuts after Trump-Xi meeting71 articles · 48 independent sources
    1. Sep 25U.S., China Agree on Tariff Relief for $30 Billion in Goods
    2. Sep 26US, China agree to cut tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods, set up channel for AI incidents
    3. Sep 28US and China release reciprocal $30 billion product lists for tariff cuts after Trump-Xi meeting
  5. Sep 26 – 27China and the US agree to set up a new AI safety channel, and to keep talking on trade, military28 articles · 26 independent sources

Who covered it, over timeindependent sources per week, by side

Apr 20May 25Jun 22Jul 27Aug 24Sep 28

LeftCenterRight

Point at or tap a week to see its count by side.

Every week as a table
Week ofLeftCenterRightArticles
Apr 20, 20261034
Jul 6, 20263104
Jul 13, 202657447
Jul 20, 202686648
Sep 7, 2026413658
Sep 14, 20261015974
Sep 21, 2026101611100
Sep 28, 202697141

Stories before June 28, 2026 come from archived pages, so who covered them is limited to the outlets we recovered for that period.

25% left · 48% center · 27% right of 91 independent sources among the outlets we track, across 22 stories.

Every storyoldest first

  1. April 2026

    Apr 23White House accuses China of 'industrial-scale' AI technology theft weeks ahead of Trump-Xi summit5 articles · 5 independent sources
    1 left, 0 center, 3 right

  2. July 2026

    Jul 7– 9China mulls curbing foreign access to its AI models5 articles · 5 independent sources
    3 left, 1 center, 0 right
  3. Jul 16– 23China’s Kimi K3 and the rise of open-weight AI models46 articles · 31 independent sources
    6 left, 6 center, 6 right
  4. Jul 17– 19China’s Xi calls for more global efforts to guide AI, chides US for its curbs on tech sharing20 articles · 16 independent sources
    1 left, 3 center, 1 right
  5. Jul 17– 18Xi Jinping calls for international cooperation in AI development6 articles · 5 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 1 right
  6. Jul 20– 23Breakthroughs in Chinese AI models threaten U.S. lead in tech race12 articles · 12 independent sources
    5 left, 2 center, 3 right
  7. Jul 21Bessent warns China could face sanctions over AI IP theft5 articles · 5 independent sources
    3 left, 1 center, 0 right
  8. Jul 21– 23China's Moonshot AI stole from Anthropic, Trump tech adviser says13 articles · 10 independent sources
    2 left, 2 center, 4 right

  9. September 2026

    Sep 8– 10US claims Chinese AI firms are carrying out ‘industrial-scale’ theft of trade secrets30 articles · 28 independent sources
    3 left, 4 center, 4 right
  10. Sep 11– 15China bristles at Anthropic CEO’s ‘fearmongering’ about its AI development74 articles · 44 independent sources
    7 left, 12 center, 8 right
  11. Sep 13– 18China Also Thinks AI Could Kill Us. But First, It Wants to Match the U.S.5 articles · 4 independent sources
    0 left, 2 center, 2 right
  12. Sep 14– 18Global AI safety is hinging on U.S.-China cooperation, but they see each other as the problem17 articles · 14 independent sources
    4 left, 5 center, 1 right
  13. Sep 15– 16Trump Has Few Good Options to Slow China’s Rise as AI Superpower5 articles · 3 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 2 right
  14. Sep 15– 18OpenAI, Nvidia CEOs to attend Trump-Xi state dinner: Sources5 articles · 3 independent sources
    3 left, 0 center, 0 right
  15. Sep 17– 23Can the US and China cooperate on AI dangers?9 articles · 9 independent sources
    2 left, 3 center, 4 right
  16. Sep 21Bessent: US proposes AI incident alert system in talks with China22 articles · 22 independent sources
    3 left, 6 center, 1 right
  17. Sep 21– 22What’s the US–China AI ‘hotline’ that Trump plans to pitch to Xi Jinping?3 articles · 3 independent sources
    1 left, 0 center, 1 right
  18. Sep 22China's Alibaba unveils new powerful chip and ambitious AI model plans9 articles · 9 independent sources
    2 left, 2 center, 2 right
  19. Sep 24China vs US: Who is winning the AI race, in four charts3 articles · 3 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 0 right
  20. Sep 24– 27China State Media Says US Shares Responsibility for Managing AI5 articles · 4 independent sources
    3 left, 1 center, 0 right
  21. Sep 25– 29US and China release $60 billion nonsensitive product lists for tariff cuts after Trump-Xi meeting71 articles · 48 independent sources
    10 left, 9 center, 8 right
  22. Sep 26– 27China and the US agree to set up a new AI safety channel, and to keep talking on trade, military28 articles · 26 independent sources
    1 left, 7 center, 1 right