The United States is struggling to reconcile domestic pressure to slow artificial intelligence development with its determination not to cede ground to China, as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for his first state visit in over a decade. A recent Politico poll found 63 percent of Americans believe AI could pose an existential threat, while the Trump administration has dismissed such concerns as a distraction, with President Trump calling AI catastrophe fears a hoax and insisting that falling behind China is the greater danger. With a proposed standing bilateral AI incident-reporting channel — floated by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly — still awaiting a clear response from Beijing, analysts warn that framing any safety dialogue as an extension of technology competition could cause it to collapse precisely when it is most needed.