'Very worried about China', says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman with a warning for America and the new 'China-Safe' chips policy

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has issued a stark warning that America may be underestimating the complexity and seriousness of China's advancements in artificial intelligence. During a rare on-the-record briefing with a small group of reporters, Altman said that relying on export controls alone is likely not a reliable solution to the geopolitical AI race. "I’m worried about China," Altman stated, speaking over Mediterranean tapas in San Francisco's Presidio, last week. According to a report in CNBC, he emphasized that the US–China AI race is deeply entangled, encompassing more than just who is ahead on a simple scoreboard.Altman detailed the various layers of the AI landscape, including inference capacity, research, and product development. "I don’t think it’ll be as simple as: Is the U.S. or China ahead?" he said, adding that China might be able to build inference capacity faster.

'China-Safe' chips policy not enough

Despite the escalating U.S. export controls on semiconductors, Altman expressed skepticism that these policies are keeping up with the technical reality. When asked if it would be reassuring to have fewer GPUs reaching China, he responded, "My instinct is that doesn’t work."

Altman elaborated on the challenges of a purely policy-driven approach, suggesting that export controls on one specific item might not be effective. "You can export-control one thing, but maybe not the right thing… maybe people build fabs or find other workarounds," he noted, referring to semiconductor fabrication facilities. "I’d love an easy solution," he added, "But my instinct is: That’s hard."Altman’s comments come as Washington continues to adjust its policies aimed at curbing China's AI ambitions. While the Biden administration initially tightened export controls, President Donald Trump went a step further in April by halting the supply of advanced chips altogether. However, just last week, the U.S. created an exception for certain "China-safe" chips, allowing sales to resume under a controversial agreement that requires chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD to give the federal government a percentage of their China chip revenue.The result is a complex and often contradictory set of rules that may be easier to navigate than to enforce. While U.S. companies deepen their reliance on chips from key American firms, Chinese companies are actively developing alternatives from domestic suppliers like Huawei. This raises questions about whether the strategy of cutting off supply is having its intended effect, or simply accelerating China’s push for self-sufficiency in AI technology.