OPINION — On the sidelines of the latest ASEAN convention in Malaysia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met together with his Chinese language counterpart, Overseas Minister Wang Yi. Rubio introduced that the talks had been “optimistic and constructive,” and highlighted that possibilities have been good that Presidents Trump and Xi may meet later within the yr — which might be their first assembly since 2019. Notably, Presidents Trump and Xi had a prolonged cellphone name (specializing in commerce/tariff points) in June 2025, and each had invited one another for respective state visits. As President Trump offers with an more and more aggressive China, with respect to cyber-attacks, fentanyl manufacturing, commerce variations, assaults on our infrastructure, visa points for Chinese language college students, and the heightened dangers of a Chinese language invasion of Taiwan, what may show helpful for President Trump with respect to negotiations with Xi?
By now, having met Xi on quite a few events throughout his first time period, President Trump is aware of him effectively and is conscious of Xi’s intelligence, ruthlessness, resilience, rationality, and his long-term objective, to unify China and Taiwan, and to realize the ‘Chinese language Dream of Rejuvenation,’ making China probably the most highly effective nation on the planet by 2049. Whereas President Trump and his nationwide safety workforce have tended to deal with probably the most salient geopolitical points in Asia and on the planet akin to commerce/tariffs, Taiwan, the militarization of the South China Sea, Ukraine, North Korea, and fentanyl, probably the most pressing and potent points contain mental property and the applied sciences of the longer term, significantly AI.
Why AI? It’s easy: As Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has beforehand mentioned, whoever controls AI will management the twenty first century. And, clearly, Xi and the Chinese language elites and tech industries know that too, which is why China is forging forward in its analysis, financial espionage, mental property theft, information acquisition, and switch of AI know-how.
What is usually misplaced on this dialogue is that it’s a lot greater than mere technical points concerning Huawei, Tik Tok, TSMC, and different cutting-edge applied sciences. Xi is aware of this, and so ought to we. He is aware of that to realize his Chinese language Dream, controlling Taiwan and its chip-making trade TSMC will not be sufficient. To realize true primacy, China should management all the applied sciences of the twenty first Century.
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Even the Vatican has weighed in on this. Pope Leo IV has additionally spoken forthrightly concerning the dangers of AI, and the necessity for all of us to make sure that such know-how is used for the frequent good, “based mostly on the dignity and basic freedoms of the human individual.” In different phrases, China too must be clear and open of their AI endeavors and never use AI in wars or financial competitors. Putin should know, as President Trump is aware of, {that a} world wherein China controls all AI would threaten democracies, the world economic system, and, maybe, our very humanity. Subsequently, this can’t be allowed to occur, and on this new “Chilly Struggle” with China (and its authoritarian allies Russia, Iran, and North Korea) America, and its freedom-loving allies and companions should win.
There’s a pertinent historic reference we are able to have a look at. Over the last Chilly Struggle towards the USSR, a ‘holy alliance’ between President Reagan and Pope John Paul II to advertise ‘Solidarity’ in Poland – with different [Catholic] senior officers akin to nationwide safety advisor William Clark, Secretary of State Alexander Haig, CIA Director William Casey, LTG Vernon Walters, Vatican Secretary of State Agostino Casaroli, and Vatican envoy Luigi Poggi – which helped result in the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union.
Presidents Putin and Xi each know their historical past and are absolutely cognizant of the above historic circumstances. Conscious that American-born Pope Leo IV met with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (each are Catholic) shortly after his election, Putin and Xi are proper to be involved. And final month, Pope Leo IV named the primary Chinese language Bishop of his papacy, pursuant to a controversial [2018] diplomatic settlement negotiated by the late Pope Francis. And so it will seem that every one eyes right now are on Pope Leo IV — as they need to be. President Trump could be smart to satisfy with Pope Leo IV earlier than assembly with adversary leaders akin to Presidents Putin and Xi.
President Trump and his nationwide safety workforce ought to thereby borrow a web page from President Ronald Reagan’s playbook – which led to the demise of the previous USSR – and forge a brand new ‘Holy Alliance’ with Pope Leo IV and the Holy See, each to hunt peace in Ukraine and the Center East, and to additionally counter China’s aggressive rise and need to manage AI and the crucial applied sciences of the twenty first Century. Our humanity is at stake.
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