Yasin Gungor
13 September 2026•Update: 13 September 2026
US President Donald Trump on Sunday opposed slowing down the domestic artificial intelligence industry, arguing that maintaining a technological advantage over China remains critical for global leadership.
"Look, we're leading China in AI. We're the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI wins," Trump told reporters when questioned on whether the sector requires stricter regulation or a slower development pace.
The US president dismissed calls to curb the sector's rapid progress, claiming that "a lot of negative forces" are exaggerating hypothetical risks and raising issues that will never materialize.
While acknowledging that authorities "can put guardrails" on technological systems, Trump maintained that his primary objective centers on preserving America's edge.
Trump dismisses summit cancellation concerns
Addressing whether Chinese President Xi Jinping might cancel an upcoming bilateral summit, Trump rejected the possibility, insisting that personal relations between the two leaders remain strong. "No, I have with him great relationship. He wants to get along and we want it. We're going to get along," he said.
Trump claimed Beijing has acted "very fair with us over the last number of years," while asserting that "over the decades" and under previous American administrations led by Joe Biden and Barack Obama, "China took tremendous advantage."
The US leader visited China in May, and later extended an invitation to Xi for a state visit to the US scheduled for Sept. 24.
Mounting debate over pacing artificial intelligence
Trump's statements come amid intensifying debate across the technology sector over whether developers should moderate the rapid deployment of autonomous models. On Saturday, Dario Amodei, chief executive of US artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, published an essay, arguing that companies should slow the rate at which AI models become more capable.
The call gained backing from other industry figures, including OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman, who endorsed Amodei's position and indicated that his company would follow similar safety practices. Google DeepMind Chief Executive Demis Hassabis and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk have likewise expressed support for a more controlled pace for frontier systems.
The discussions follow reports that increasingly autonomous systems have been exploited for cyber intrusions, foreign propaganda operations, and dual-use biological research.
