China has proposed a global action plan to govern artificial intelligence, just days after the United States unveiled its own plan to promote US dominance of the rapidly growing field that’s become a key bargaining chip in trade talks between the economic powerhouses.

Unitree Robotics ' robots are seen engaged in a boxing match at the Shanghai Expo Center on July 27, 2025. The Hangzhou-based firm presented a lineup of embodied artificial intelligence innovations at this year's World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), held in Shanghai. Photo: VCG

A number of the executive orders and announcements coming from the White House since Donald Trump returned to office have painted an ambitious vision for America’s AI future—crushing competition with China, abolishing “woke” AI models that suppress conservative speech, jump-starting power-hungry AI data centers. But the details have been sparse.