Tokuda urges President Trump to protect America’s AI advantage ahead of bilateral talks with China

US Rep. Jill N. Tokuda of Hawaiʻi, a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led House Democrats in a letter urging President Trump to halt any potential concessions on advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chip sales to Beijing ahead of high-stakes talks with President Xi Jinping. 

Tokuda was joined by Ro Khanna (CA-17), Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the CCP, and 13 other members of Congress, calling on the Trump administration to maintain strict export controls on advanced AI chips under the Export Control Reform Act, warning that creating loopholes or exceptions directly threatens American economic stability and national defense capabilities. 

“If the United States gives our very best AI chips to China, it would exponentially increase their capacity to dominate the AI race,” the lawmakers wrote. “We must not let that happen. Retaining the most advanced AI chips for domestic use, along with allies and partners, is an effective way to slow down China’s AI progress and strengthen America’s economic and national security advantages.”

The lawmakers warned that next-generation chips like Nvidia’s Blackwell run up to eight times faster than older processors sold to China, arguing that this decisive advantage must stay in American hands.