"China and the U.S. have pulled way out front in the AI race. China used to be one to two years behind the U.S. Now, it is likely two to three months," Jeffrey Towson, owner of Beijing-based TechMoat Consulting, told VOA.

The leaders of both Canada and Mexico got on the phone with President Donald Trump this past week to seek solutions after he slapped tariffs on their countries, but China’s president appears unlikely to make a similar call soon.

Trump, who imposed a wave of tariffs on China in his first term, has slapped another 20% duty on a wide swath of Chinese goods this year. Beijing, the top buyer of American agricultural products, recently imposed retaliatory tariffs of 10% to 15% on a range of U.S. exports like chicken, corn, soybeans and beef.