The president Donald Trump stated this Saturday that the United States aims to "outpace China in industry," highlighting cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence as the two pillars of this strategic competition.
"We want to surpass China in the industry. We are leading in crypto. We are leading in AI. And I truly feel that I have an obligation as president to ensure that all our industries are functioning well," Trump stated, according to a statement released by the official Rapid Response 47 account of the White House.
The president emphasized that cryptocurrencies have ceased to be a marginal phenomenon and have become "mainstream": "Banks have them. People have them," he stated, thus justifying his administration's institutional support for the sector.
Regarding artificial intelligence, Trump was categorical: "We are leading China by a long shot in AI," reaffirming a stance he had already expressed in February of this year in an interview with NBC News, where he also predicted that AI will surpass the impact of the Internet.
These statements come at a time of escalating technological rivalry between the two powers. On April 17, the White House's science and technology advisor, Michael Kratsios, accused Chinese entities of conducting "industrial-scale campaigns" to steal American AI models, as the House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation to sanction such practices.
The Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, described the competition with China in artificial intelligence in terms of "pass or fail," labeling AI as "the largest industry anyone has ever seen."
The Trump administration has backed its words with concrete actions since the start of its second term.
In March 2025, Trump signed the executive order that created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, funded by assets seized in judicial proceedings and at no cost to taxpayers.
In addition, he signed the GENIUS Act, the first regulatory framework in the United States for so-called stablecoins.
In the field of artificial intelligence, the White House published on April 17 a policy framework for AI that seeks to centralize federal regulation and prevent a fragmentation of state laws that could hinder competitiveness against Beijing.
The administration also attracted over $2.7 trillion in technology investments, including $90 billion in the state of Pennsylvania.
China, for its part, denounced U.S. actions in artificial intelligence as a "suppression" of its technological development.
Industry experts assessed in April that Chinese AI models are "months behind" their American counterparts, although Beijing holds advantages in talent reserves and electrical capacity for data centers.
The diplomatic weight of Trump's statements will be put to the test in the coming weeks: the president is scheduled to have a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 and 15, where technology and trade will be the central topics on the agenda.
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