China isn’t racing to artificial general intelligence — but U.S. companies are
China’s AI strategy prioritizes long-term developmental goals, in contrast to Silicon Valley’s superintelligence pursuit.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends a discussion at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors' Conference, at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C., July 22, 2025. Credit: Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA via AP Images
Since the release of ChatGPT, American technologists and policymakers have claimed that the U.S. and China are locked in an escalating race to artificial general intelligence, or AGI. This is a powerful, yet misleading narrative.
An excerpt from a letter sent by OpenAI to the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Credit: OpenAI
In its most common formulation, AGI can be understood as the theoretical point at which AI systems can match, if not, outperform humans on most cognitive t
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