President Donald Trump ruled out any joint US-China venture in artificial intelligence on Tuesday, saying such a partnership would amount to "giving away secrets" to America's main economic rival.
Speaking at an event in Washington launching America.gov, a new AI-powered government services portal, Trump said the US holds a commanding lead in the sector and has no interest in sharing it.
"If we do that, we're going to be giving a lot of secrets that we have that they would want to have, or anybody else," Trump said. "Frankly, there is nobody in third place... it's all between us and China."
The remarks came a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the White House. The two countries announced a new AI dialogue during that visit, with further talks set for November. They also set up a communications channel aimed at preventing misunderstandings during AI-related incidents.
Trump said AI came up in his meeting with Xi but that he remains opposed to any arrangement that would expose American technology to Beijing.
The president also repeated his resistance to restrictions on AI development at home, arguing that regulation would slow growth. His position puts him at odds with mounting public concern over the risks of rapid AI expansion, including job displacement and safety questions.
Trump's comments signal that the newly announced bilateral dialogue will not extend to joint development. The November talks are expected to focus on risk management and communication rather than cooperation.
The US and China are the world's two largest AI powers. American firms lead in advanced chips and frontier models, while China has poured billions into catching up. Any joint venture would have raised immediate national security questions in Congress, where lawmakers from both parties have pushed for tighter controls on AI technology exports to China.
The America.gov launch served as the backdrop for Trump's remarks. The site is designed to streamline access to federal services using AI tools, part of a broader White House push to showcase American technological leadership.
Trump did not take questions after his speech. The White House has not said whether the November AI talks will proceed as scheduled.
