{
  "id": 9354682,
  "title": "Pacing problem: can AI fears overcome US-China race dynamics and force a slowdown?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/pacing-problem-can-ai-fears-overcome-us-china-race-dynamics-and-force",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-23T15:00:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3368503/pacing-problem-can-ai-fears-overcome-us-china-race-dynamics-and-force-slowdown"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The US-China relationship is under scrutiny as AI leaders call for a slowdown in development. AI giants such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Elon Musk's SpaceXAI have advocated for \"pacing\" the advance of artificial intelligence, citing fears of its capabilities outpacing the safeguards designed to control them. This proposal comes as US President Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, amid Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng's discussions on AI safety. Despite the shared sentiment, the tech race between Silicon Valley and China continues, with no clear leader emerging. Analysts suggest that the lack of consensus within the US companies themselves makes a slowdown unlikely. The US has imposed export controls on advanced semiconductors to China, but Chinese AI models remain competitive. This rivalry threatens the valuations of US AI leaders and challenges the US's claim of global AI leadership. While existential risks of AI have long been a concern, recent industry statements seem to have commercial and geopolitical motivations. AI safety proposals aim to restrict China's AI industry, including semiconductor chip export controls. Chinese policymakers find it hard to accept pacing as politically neutral, even if they acknowledge the need for cooperation. China's official media accused the US of seeking to monopolize AI development, while a DeepSeek engineer criticized OpenAI and Anthropic using Nazi Germany as an analogy. Despite increased focus on AI safety, China maintains that it is not about \"AI containment\" and requires an equal footing with the US.",
  "summary": "When the presidents of the United States and China meet in Washington, the world will be watching to see whether their two countries can make good on their agreement to work towards “constructive strategic stability”. In the sixth part of a series, Chong Ming Lee and Vincent Chow examine what’s behind the call for “pacing” by American AI giants – effectively a slowdown in development – and how…",
  "key_points": [
    "AI leaders call for development slowdown amid US-China rivalry",
    "US President Trump to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping",
    "No consensus within US AI companies on pacing AI development"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SCMP Tech",
        "title": "Pacing problem: can AI fears overcome US-China race dynamics and force a slowdown?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/pacing-problem-can-ai-fears-overcome-us-china-race-dynamics-and-force-9355451",
        "published": "2026-09-23T15:00:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}