US envoy warns against AI 'throttle' amid China rivalry

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Sunday characterized the artificial intelligence competition with China as unprecedented in its complexity, noting that Washington and Beijing remain deeply economically intertwined despite mounting strategic tensions. Speaking to CNN, Waltz contrasted the current dynamic with past adversarial relationships, stating that earlier conflicts lacked the extensive commercial linkages now binding the two nuclear powers. "Unlike in the Cold War or any other adversary we've had in the past—Germany, Japan, etc.—we've never been so intertwined economically with a competitor or potential adversary like we are with the People's Republic of China, so it is a much more complex situation," Waltz said.

He indicated that an upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could establish narrow bilateral guardrails covering algorithmic diffusion, nuclear weapons systems, and maintaining human oversight in command loops. However, Waltz drew a sharp distinction regarding domestic policy, warning that federal restrictions would cripple American technological leadership. "What we cannot do is put a throttle on our innovators, on our entrepreneurs, on so many great Americans in our system that's so unique that are creating the solutions of the future," he said.

Arctic security and maritime pressure

Waltz outlined an urgent security agreement with Denmark regarding Greenland, describing the Arctic as the primary vector for intercontinental missile attacks against North America. "If we're ever attacked by any type of intercontinental missiles, they'll come over the Arctic," he said, stressing that radar installations across the High North require unrestricted access. The envoy tied northern defense to a Finnish icebreaker pact and expanded NATO spending, noting that retreating ice is rerouting commercial traffic toward Arctic sea lanes.

Addressing Middle Eastern waterways, Waltz warned that the US and its allies would take decisive action against any disruption to civilian shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, and Suez Canal. He dismissed concerns that military confrontation could persist until 2029, asserting that indefinite sanctions would pressure Tehran's power structure by targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which controls roughly half the Iranian economy. Meanwhile, CNN reported that the Trump administration prefers Saudi Arabia to assume a leading counter-pressure role rather than deploying American forces directly, expanding intelligence sharing with Riyadh as Saudi officials express confidence in their capabilities after a decade of training.