US congressmen declare the US in 'indefinite' AI race with China, signaling alignment on computational competitiveness as strategic priority.

The United States and China are locked in an "indefinite race" to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence, and the United States needs to adopt legislation that prevents China and other adversaries from acquiring American AI chips, according to remarks made by a pair of U.S. congressmen on June 25.

China's integration of civilian and military industries provides some industrial advantages, but in the AI race, the United States maintains a strategic advantage through its possession of the most advanced AI chips, said Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "There is an ability for us to stay ahead in this race — and advance ourselves more ahead — if we can prevent China from getting access to U.S. AI chips," Mast said during an event hosted by the Hudson Institute.

In December 2025, Mast introduced the Artificial Intelligence Oversight of Verified Exports and Restrictions on Weaponizable Advanced Technology to Covered High-Risk Actors, or AI OVERWATCH Act. The legislation is designed to ensure "congressional oversight keeps pace with advancing technology, blocks adversary militaries from accessing weapon-enabling AI and accelerates American AI exports to allies and partners around the world," according to a House Foreign Affairs Committee release.

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced complementary legislation in November 2025 known as the Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence, or GAIN AI Act. This bill aims to prevent the export of advanced AI chips to arms-embargoed countries "if there is unmet demand from American companies," while giving U.S. firms a "right of first refusal" to acquire these systems. Banks praised both pieces of legislation as "groundbreaking."

"When you're in a war, you don't give your enemy your best weapons and technologies," Banks said. Both congressmen noted that support for their AI chip export control bills has drawn broad bipartisan backing, though neither has yet been signed into law.

Mast acknowledged that Congress faces significant obstacles in advancing such legislation, describing it as an "old dog [that] doesn't like to learn new tricks." A lack of AI comprehension among members of Congress represents a major challenge. "You have to have people that get smart on this, because if they can't comprehend it, they can't comprehend the threats," he said.

Mast emphasized that any sale of U.S. AI chips to Chinese companies likely enables military applications as well. "If there's compute that is going into China for civil use, that is the same compute that goes into China for military use, and it will be used for nefarious purposes against their adversaries, which is the United States chief among them in this great power competition."

The Trump administration's approach provides a workable framework, Mast argued: "don't sell to Chinese military end-users or other nefarious end-users. That's a day-to-day operation." Banks agreed, expressing hope that the United States can "draw a red line" and "never send" U.S. AI chips to China.

Mast concluded with a stark framing of the competition: "AI has the ability to create superpowers — whether it creates a supervillain or whether it creates a superhero, that depends on the actions that are taken. America is the superhero in this fight, and China is the supervillain."