Alarm over AI's rapid advance grips Washington and Beijing as both powers reckon with the technology's existential risks

From the Newshound archive · first published 20 September 2026.

Beijing's spy chief has warned that advanced AI poses a threat to China's national security, with a California programming team revealing they constructed a cyberattack worm using AI that was capable of compromising millions of WeChat accounts. China and the US are moving toward what analysts describe as a "more realistic and shared understanding" of AI risks, increasing pressure on President Trump and President Xi to address the issue when they meet face-to-face on Thursday. Trump, guided by billionaire adviser David Sacks, has dismissed AI safety concerns as a "hoax" and maintains that Washington already wields sufficient authority over tech companies without new regulation.

Beijing has rejected US calls to slow AI development, seeing them as an effort to cement America's technological lead.

More than 100 AI researchers signed a public letter on Friday calling for independent third-party evaluations of the most powerful AI models.

Sacks, Trump's AI czar, has personal financial interests in multiple AI companies while advising the president against imposing any restrictions.