Is China Winning the A.I. Race? episode artwork

EPISODE · May 11, 2026 · 31 MIN

Is China Winning the A.I. Race?

from The Daily · host Deborah Lebree

President Trump is preparing to make a crucial trip to China this week to meet with its leader, Xi Jinping. A key issue hanging over the meeting is artificial intelligence, and whether the global A.I. race is spinning out of control. Vivian Wang, who covers Chinese politics and society, explains how the country is approaching the technology differently from the United States. Guest: Vivian Wang, a correspondent for The New York Times in Beijing, covering Chinese politics and society. Background reading:  Where are China’s A.I. doomers?Chinese parents are outsourcing the homework grind to A.I. Photo: Qilai Shen for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

President Trump is preparing to make a crucial trip to China this week to meet with its leader, Xi Jinping. A key issue hanging over the meeting is artificial intelligence, and whether the global A.I. race is spinning out of control. Vivian Wang, who covers Chinese politics and society, explains how the country is approaching the technology differently from the United States. Guest: Vivian Wang, a correspondent for The New York Times in Beijing, covering Chinese politics and society. Background reading:  Where are China’s A.I. doomers?Chinese parents are outsourcing the homework grind to A.I. Photo: Qilai Shen for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Is China Winning the A.I. Race?

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This episode was published on May 11, 2026.

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President Trump is preparing to make a crucial trip to China this week to meet with its leader, Xi Jinping. A key issue hanging over the meeting is artificial intelligence, and whether the global A.I. race is spinning out of control. Vivian Wang,...

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