China's AI chip blitz arms Xi with a message for Trump: 'You can't choke us off'

Chinese President Xi Jinping has kicked off his first U.S. state visit in more than a decade with a confidence boost — a run of chip and model launches that could give Washington pause before tightening tech export controls further. Recent releases of new chip and AI models from national champions, including Huawei Technologies and Alibaba Group , have sharpened Beijing's case that a key lever used by Washington against Chinese AI has limits: its technology restrictions can slow China's ambitions but not stop them. "For Xi, the leverage is not 'we have caught up with you' — it's 'you can't simply technologically choke us off,'" said Lizzi Lee, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute.