According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, on June 11, a hearing was held in the US Congress. The main topic of discussion was the competition between the United States and China in the field of artificial intelligence. Many members of Congress and witnesses collectively argued that the United States must have control over the writing of what they called “responsible” new chapters in artificial intelligence. They stated that the next revolution in AI should take place in the United States, not in China.
During this hearing, South Carolina's federal senator Tim Scott raised the issue of "cybersecurity and national security." He argued that if China or any other opponent gained technological advantages in the field of artificial intelligence, the United States would "not be able to afford" it.
Indiana Republican Senator Jim Banks forcibly applied the zero-sum game mentality to technological development. He claimed that no competition is more crucial for America's future than beating China in the AI field. “Whoever leads the development of artificial intelligence can set the rules of the global economy and control the high points of military power.”
Chips are the cornerstone of AI computing power. Elizabeth Warren, a federal senator from Massachusetts, proposed that the United States previously imposed strict export controls, restricting NVIDIA from selling its most advanced chips to China. However, the Trump administration is now relaxing these restrictions.
She claimed that “a large number of high-end chips were first sold to other regions, and then secretly flowed into China, while the Trump administration turned a blind eye to this situation.”
Hudson Institute senior researcher and witness at this hearing, David Fefs, stated that the Trump administration's artificial intelligence policy has enabled the United States to clearly recognize that it must defeat China in the artificial intelligence race.
He had evil intentions: “The United States should focus on technological innovation within its own territory, export technology to allies and trusted partners, while blocking the core technological capabilities necessary for China to catch up.”
The artificial intelligence industry ecosystem in the United States is highly market-oriented. Venture capital institutions provide funding, with the core goal of creating high-performance large models by relying on top-tier computing resources (resources required for training and running artificial intelligence models).
In contrast, China's artificial intelligence industry ecosystem focuses on open-source and open-weight models, and has been widely applied in industrial scenarios. Governments at all levels provide numerous supportive policies for this industry.
With ChatGPT developed by OpenAI, the United States once had a head start. However, in 2025, Chinese companies like DeepSeek will launch several self-developed large models. Coupled with China's goal of becoming a leading country in artificial intelligence by 2030, the technological gap between the two countries is continuously narrowing.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has emphasized that artificial intelligence is profoundly changing ways of production and living, and it is a new issue that humanity must confront together. Artificial intelligence is not a patent of major nations, and it should not slide into competition and confrontation.
