The Business Times
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The Trump-Xi truce stops at AI; who gets caught in the middle?

If the US forces countries to pick sides, more may switch to China’s cheaper and more open models

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    • In the AI race, the US has decided to push its allies into line, rather than to cultivate and offer incentives.
    • In the AI race, the US has decided to push its allies into line, rather than to cultivate and offer incentives. PHOTO: REUTERS

    Alicia Garcia Herrero

    Published Mon, Sep 28, 2026 · 12:45 PM

    US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday (Sep 24) extended the trade truce but produced little on artificial intelligence beyond a channel for flagging AI incidents.

    Export controls on advanced chips were not even on the agenda.

    That absence is the point. Tariffs and rare earths can be traded; AI capability cannot, because both sides see it as the determinant of relative power.

    Donald TrumpXi JinpingArtificial IntelligenceGeopoliticsSemiconductorsEuropeSingaporeKazakhstan

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