Senate Democrats Press Trump to Block China's Access to AI Chips Ahead of Xi Visit

Senate Democrats on Wednesday urged President Donald Trump to prevent China from obtaining advanced artificial intelligence chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, issuing the warning as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a state visit.

Speaking at a news conference, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the president faces a choice between yielding to the Chinese Communist Party or defending U.S. national security and preserving the country's lead in AI. He called on Trump to block China's access to American AI chips and manufacturing equipment, and to refrain from weakening existing export controls.

Schumer accused the administration of green-lighting the sale of advanced AI chips to China, describing the move as giving away the country's greatest advantage in the AI race. He rejected what he called a false choice between maintaining a technological lead and regulating AI, arguing that both goals can be pursued at once.

Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin echoed those concerns, saying it is contradictory for the president to speak of rivalry with China while permitting the export of the most sophisticated chips. She described such transfers as a giveaway of national security and said restricting high-end chips would be a step the president could take immediately.

The senators are pressing Congress to advance three bills aimed at limiting China's access to U.S. AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The push comes as American policymakers weigh how to regulate increasingly powerful AI systems while constraining China's access to the advanced chips that drive global technological competition.

Xi's visit is his first state visit in more than a decade. Trump is expected to greet him on the tarmac on Wednesday evening, a rare gesture that underscores the importance the U.S. president is placing on honoring China's leader.