Trump rejects joint US-China work on AI risks despite planned dialogue

US President Donald Trump has rejected calls for the United States and China to work together on artificial-intelligence risks, saying cooperation could undermine America’s lead in the technology. Speaking at the launch of America.gov, an AI-powered federal government portal, Trump said the country leading in “superintelligence” would prevail. He argued that the United States should maintain its advantage rather than enter a joint venture with China.

Trump said cooperation could expose American secrets. His comments came as concerns grow about the possible misuse of advanced AI systems for cyberattacks and the development of bioweapons. The United States and China agreed after a summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to establish an AI incident-notification hotline and hold an ongoing dialogue on AI risks.

The next round is planned for November in Shenzhen. Details of the proposed discussions have not been announced. The terminology used by the two sides is also unsettled: Trump has promoted “superintelligence”, while Beijing continues to use “AI”.

Trump presented US leadership in AI as his administration’s main priority and said existing safeguards, including the Justice Department and FBI, would help ensure that companies acted properly. The administration’s push comes as opposition to AI infrastructure grows in the United States. A poll cited in the source material found that 61% of likely voters opposed building data centres to power AI.

Trump also signed an executive order directing federal agencies to integrate public-facing services with America.gov, described as a single website for government information and services.