Who should the U.S. Talk to in China on AI?
The article discusses who the U.S. should engage with in China regarding AI policy, analyzing various Chinese stakeholders including government officials, academics, and tech industry leaders. It argues that understanding China's internal AI dynamics is crucial for effective U.S. dialogue and cooperation on AI safety and governance.
Background
- Matt Sheehan is a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who focuses on Chinese technology and AI policy. He argues the US government lacks expertise on China's AI landscape and tends to talk only to a narrow group of Beijing-connected elites.
- China's AI ecosystem is broader than just state-linked figures: it includes entrepreneurs, engineers, researchers at domestic firms, and provincial officials who influence policy. Sheehan contends that engaging only with official channels gives the US a distorted picture.
- The piece appears on Substack, not a traditional policy journal, and reflects a debate inside US foreign-policy circles about how to handle technology competition with China — balancing dialogue, de-risking, and national security concerns.
- For readers following US-China tech rivalry: this explains why diplomatic contact on AI is so fraught and why American officials may be poorly informed about Chinese incentives, business realities, and regulatory dynamics.