Sep 8, 2026
Ian Bremmer
The competition between the United States and China to develop AI and deploy it globally poses the biggest threat to the two countries’ currently constructive relations. Without an ongoing AI dialogue to avoid escalation, a return to the zero-sum conflict that rattled both sides last year cannot be ruled out.
NEW YORK—Just three months after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, he launched a new trade war with China. It didn’t go well. Immediately after he announced a 34% duty on all Chinese imports, China signaled that it was ready to play hardball with a matching 34% tariff on all US goods and immediate export controls on seven rare-earth elements and the rare-earth magnets used in many 21st-century consumer products and military technologies.
