In Washington, new legislation was presented to Congress on Wednesday aimed at prohibiting the use of Chinese artificial intelligence systems by federal agencies. This initiative, backed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, is part of a broader effort to ensure that the United States maintains a competitive edge over China in the rapidly evolving global AI landscape.
At a hearing on the issue, Republican Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan, who also serves as the chairman of the House Select Committee on China, declared, “We are in a new Cold War, and AI is the strategic technology at the center. The future balance of power may very well be determined by who leads in AI.”
Concerns have been mounting since a Chinese tech startup, DeepSeek, introduced an AI model comparable to those created by OpenAI and Google in terms of performance, but developed at a significantly lower cost. This heightened apprehension regarding China’s ability to rival U.S. advancements in AI, despite limitations on key technologies and components.
Witnesses at the hearing emphasized that the ongoing competition between the U.S. and China could decisively shape the global political order. Thomas Mahnken, president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, noted, “The two countries are in a long-term techno-security competition that will determine the shape of the global political order for the coming years.”
Jack Clark, co-founder and policy leader at Anthropic, underscored the inherent values present in AI systems, arguing that “AI built in democracies will lead to better technology for all of humanity. AI developed in authoritarian nations will be inescapably intertwined and imbued with authoritarianism. We must take decisive action to ensure America prevails.”
Chris Lehane of OpenAI previously highlighted that the U.S. and China are the only nations capable of building AI technologies at scale. He described the competition as significant, with profound implications that would shape the global frameworks of AI development.
According to the 2025 AI Index Report from Stanford University, the United States currently leads in developing top-tier AI models, but China is rapidly closing the gap. The report projects near parity in several evaluation criteria by 2024, with China currently leading in AI publications and patents.
During the hearing, Clark advocated for reinforced export controls on advanced chips to China, emphasizing, “This competition fundamentally runs on compute. The U.S. must control the flow of powerful chips to China or else you’re giving them the tools they will need to build powerful AI to harm American interests.”
Mark Beall, Jr. from The AI Policy Network pointed out weaknesses in existing U.S. export controls, which have enabled China to acquire restricted chips. Earlier this year, lawmakers introduced a proposal aimed at monitoring the distribution of such chips to prevent them from reaching adverse entities.
The newly proposed legislation seeks to ban Chinese AI systems within the U.S. federal government, introduced by Representatives Ritchie Torres of New York, Darin LaHood of Illinois, and Senators Rick Scott of Florida, along with Gary Peters of Michigan. Moolenaar asserted, “The U.S. must draw a hard line: hostile AI systems have no business operating inside our government.”
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the lead Democrat on the committee, expressed concerns that AI controlled by foreign adversaries presents a direct threat to national security and government operations.
While some federal agencies and states have already prohibited the use of DeepSeek on government equipment, this latest bill proposes a comprehensive ban on all AI systems managed by foreign adversaries in federal applications. The legislation intends to direct the Federal Acquisition Security Council to identify and scrutinize potentially problematic AI systems, with exceptions allowed for research and counterterrorism activities.