Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The United States and China are really the only two countries that matter right now in shaping the A.I. future. As President Trump and President Xi Jinping meet in Beijing, there’s a kind of Cold War atmosphere, with people talking about an A.I. arms race. But who is winning? Are we even in a race at all? Kyle Chan, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, says it’s hard to call it a race because the U.S. and China have very different A.I. goals.
00:00:13 U.S. vs. China in A.I.
00:03:30 Everyday A.I. in China
00:07:30 The trillion dollar chip question
00:12:10 China's A.I. advantage
00:15:30 China's public mood on A.I.
00:19:10 A.I., job displacement and social concerns
00:22:10 Robots for China's labor shortage
00:26:00] China's view on America's AGI fixation
00:31:00 Distilling A.I. models
00:38:50 U.S. needs more A.I. deployment
00:42:20 U.S. chip policy and the hawk's argument
Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com.
Read the full transcript here: nytimes.com/2026/05/14/opinion/china-trump-ai-xi.html
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The United States and China are really the only two countries that matter right now in shaping the A.I. future. As President Trump and President Xi Jinping meet in Beijing, there’s a kind of Cold War atmosphere, with people talking about an A.I. arms race. But who is winning? Are we even in a race at all? Kyle Chan, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, says it’s hard to call it a race because the U.S. and China have very different A.I. goals.
00:00:13 U.S. vs. China in A.I.
00:03:30 Everyday A.I. in China
00:07:30 The trillion dollar chip question
00:12:10 China's A.I. advantage
00:15:30 China's public mood on A.I.
00:19:10 A.I., job displacement and social concerns
00:22:10 Robots for China's labor shortage
00:26:00] China's view on America's AGI fixation
00:31:00 Distilling A.I. models
00:38:50 U.S. needs more A.I. deployment
00:42:20 U.S. chip policy and the hawk's argument
Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com.
Read the full transcript here: nytimes.com/2026/05/14/opinion/china-trump-ai-xi.html
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
