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US President Donald Trump has categorically ruled out any form of joint venture with China in the field of artificial intelligence, contending that such cooperation would amount to handing America's most valuable technological secrets to its principal economic competitor. The president made the remarks on Tuesday while speaking at an event in Washington, where he reiterated his long-standing opposition to placing restrictions on AI development that he believes could slow future growth.
The comments come at a delicate moment in bilateral relations. Just last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the White House, after which both Beijing and Washington announced the establishment of a new AI dialogue, with additional talks pencilled in for November. The two nations also set up a dedicated communications channel intended to prevent misunderstandings during AI-related incidents, a move widely seen as an effort to manage an increasingly competitive technological rivalry.
Despite those diplomatic overtures, Trump made clear that his resistance to deeper technological integration remains firm. Speaking at the launch of America.gov — a new AI-powered web portal designed to streamline the delivery of US government services — the president argued that the United States holds a commanding lead in the AI sector and has no intention of "mixing it up" with potential competitors. He warned that any joint development effort would inevitably expose American intellectual property to China.
"If we do that, we're going to be giving a lot of secrets that we have that they [China] would want to have, or anybody else," Trump told attendees. "Frankly, there is nobody in third place...it's all between us and China." The remark underscores the administration's view that the AI race is essentially a two-horse contest, with the rest of the world trailing far behind.
Trump acknowledged that artificial intelligence was among the topics discussed during his meeting with Xi last week, but said the conversation had done nothing to soften his position. "Then they're going to be able to immediately gain access to things that we know that they don't know," he said, explaining why he remains opposed to collaborative development. "We're leading now over China and everyone else, and I want to keep it that way."
The president's stance is not entirely new. Before his meeting with Xi, China's foreign ministry issued a warning that "narratives of threat" and confrontation were hindering effective global AI governance. Beijing has consistently argued that framing AI as a zero-sum contest risks fragmenting the international rules and standards needed to manage the technology safely.
Domestically, Trump faces mounting public anxiety about the rapid advance of AI. A poll published by Politico in late September found that two out of every three Americans believe there is at least a "moderate" risk that AI could destroy humanity. Perhaps more striking for the president's political base, 44% of Trump supporters surveyed said they would prefer a pause in AI development altogether, reflecting unease that cuts across partisan lines.
The White House has shown little appetite for such caution. Trump has repeatedly dismissed safety concerns, describing them as a "hoax" and comparing them to what he calls the "global warming scam" allegedly "being perpetrated by radical left Dumocrats." That rhetoric places him at odds not only with a substantial share of the public but also with some voices within the technology industry, where calls for stronger guardrails have grown louder as AI systems become more capable.
The launch of America.gov itself illustrates the administration's enthusiasm for deploying AI across the federal government. The portal is intended to simplify how citizens access government services, using AI to make interactions faster and more intuitive. Critics, however, question whether the same safety standards being waved away in the broader debate will be applied to systems handling sensitive citizen data.
Analysts note that the US-China AI dialogue announced after the Xi visit could still prove valuable as a crisis-management mechanism, even if joint ventures remain off the table. The communications channel established by the two countries is designed to reduce the risk of miscalculation during AI-related incidents, a concern that has grown as both militaries incorporate autonomous systems into their operations.
For now, Trump appears determined to preserve what he sees as a decisive American advantage. His refusal to consider joint development signals that the technological decoupling between the world's two largest economies is likely to deepen in the AI domain, even as diplomatic contacts continue. The November talks will test whether dialogue alone can manage a rivalry that both sides increasingly regard as defining the coming decade.
The broader implications extend beyond Washington and Beijing. Allies in Europe and Asia are watching closely, weighing their own dependencies on American and Chinese AI technologies. A prolonged split could accelerate the emergence of rival technical standards, supply chains and regulatory regimes, complicating global efforts to govern AI.
Public opinion in the United States may also shape how far the president can push his deregulatory approach. With two-thirds of Americans perceiving at least a moderate existential risk from AI, and nearly half of his own supporters favouring a pause, the political space for unfettered development could narrow. Whether Trump adjusts his message or doubles down will be a key question in the months ahead.
For the moment, the president's position is unambiguous: cooperation with China on AI is off the table. "There is nobody in third place," he said, "it's all between us and China." That framing, repeated at Tuesday's event, is likely to define his administration's approach to the technology for the remainder of his term.
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