The feast, the harvest, and the trap

Four months ago, Xi Jinping welcomed Donald Trump to China, showcasing the nation's rich imperial history. He aimed to convey that China, built upon an ancient civilization, is now a powerful force to be reckoned with. Just recently, Trump paid homage to Xi, who welcomed him at the airport, took him on a tour of the presidential helicopter, and presented him with a bald eagle statue, a symbol of America's free spirit.

The exchange of symbols did not conclude there; Trump took Xi to the National Archives, where he stood before America's founding documents, and Trump responded with modern-day symbols. However, despite the feasting and the harvest, the trade truce reached a limited agreement, leaving no major breakthroughs on Taiwan, AI regulations, or a public declaration from Beijing to halt support for Iran.

The host and guest had switched roles, but the fundamental issue remained unchanged; the two superpowers were managing their differences, not resolving them. Nevertheless, their talks were significant, surpassing the UN summit in New York. They planned to hold further meetings before the year's end in China and the United States.

Four summits in a single year between the presidents of the world's two largest economies is no small feat.

Two US-China summits later, it is evident that two mutually reinforcing traps are at play. The first is geopolitical, and the second is technological. During the Cold War, US-Soviet summits held more value than just the signed agreements. They served as a means to manage the potential nuclear disaster and prevent it from turning into a global catastrophe.

Today, despite the absence of nuclear threats, US-China summits still hold importance in preventing a similar catastrophe, albeit in a different form. The defining fear in the 20th century was nuclear arms, a fear that persists to this day. In the 21st century, a new fear has emerged: artificial intelligence (AI). While some developers warn about the rapid advancement and control issues, others fear AI's potential to threaten humanity's survival.

Half a century ago, leaders of the two greatest powers negotiated nuclear warheads and missiles, surrounded by military officials. Today, Trump and Xi sit alongside tech giants and billionaires, with chips, algorithms, data, computing power, and minerals at the heart of their competition. The difference lies not only in the tools but also in the limits they seek to negotiate.

During the Cold War, both powers aimed to limit weapons whose range and destructive power were understood. However, today, they compete over a technology whose limits remain unknown. This is where the second trap comes into play.