In US-China AI Race

Gist On September 23 , US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Washington, establishing a modest bilateral framework for artificial intelligence AI incident notification but exposing deep divides over technology governance. While the US approaches advanced AI as an unregulated technological race for supremacy, China views it strictly through the lens of state control and regime security. For civil services aspirants, this highlights the emerging threat of a US-China "G2" technology duopoly that could impose discriminatory rules on developing nations, forcing India to urgently build domestic computing capabilities and navigate a fractured global ecosystem. Background The governance of frontier or foundational artificial intelligence models has become the primary arena of geopolitical contestation. Leading up to this summit, global tech leaders and regulatory bodies have debated whether to "pace the frontier" slow down advanced AI development to manage safety risks. Previously, during the November 2024 Lima summit between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, an informal understanding was reached to maintain human control over nuclear weapons decisions involving AI. Currently, AI governance remains highly fragmented, with major powers…