Amy Webb, CEO of Future Today Strategy Group, says China has the edge in the AI race because it's ahead of the US in building out key infrastructure. Webb discusses why the US needs a coordinated effort to stay competitive in tech development. She joins Caroline Hyde on "Bloomberg Tech."

Beijing

According to FTSG's Webb, China is currently leading the global race in artificial intelligence and critical technologies, thanks to years of infrastructure investment and a coordinated national approach. The discussion highlights that while the U.S. has focused on innovation, it has not matched China's physical infrastructure or long-term planning, particularly in areas like data centers, energy transfer, and hardware development.

The interview also notes that China's five-year plans, with AI as a central focus, contrast with the U.S.'s lack of a unified strategy. Concerns are raised about the U.S.'s global competitiveness as technology becomes integral to all sectors, with recent breakthroughs in quantum computing underscoring the need for cohesive policy and investment to keep pace with China's advancements.

China Is Winning the AI Race, Says FTSG's Webb

Amy how does Tick Tock and a potential agreement play in to the relationship. Do you think positive for now. Well positive in terms of calming some of the concerns that the Trump administration had. You know I would imagine that a lot of people didn't have Oracle on their bingo card as the biggest tech disruptor in 2025. But that's where we are. And that's because Oracle is a bit of a mixed bag. Not it's not on the forefront of innovation in critical technologies. This is a company that moves slowly. But at the end of the day. But at the end of the day business is just about relationships. And Larry Ellison is a friend of Donald Trump. And if we think about China going forward China is all about relationships and and how that's going to impact not just the development of artificial intelligence since so many other critical technologies that are now fully intertwined with with business. OK. I mean so potentially it's a positive in the relationship the diplomatic relationship between U.S. and China. But what more broadly will dictate it in 2026. We keep on talking about this undercurrent of a race really. And in one way we have an olive branch for Tick Tock and another we have still a desire to restrict very integral technologies going to China and China and building up its own chip supply chain and resilience away from the United States. Who's winning. Right. So again I think at the moment China is winning which is a controversial view. But let me tell you why. I think this way. China has spent years investing in infrastructure. The United States has really had sort of a freewheeling innovation focus. And the challenge is we've got a handful of companies that are making through roads in their innovation different technologies. But we don't have the physical infrastructure to support a lot of that which is why you hear so much about data centers and energy consumption. China has been at the forefront of totally transforming what energy transfer looks like. The in March the CCP will have its meeting on China's annual five year plan. A.I. is the centerpiece of that. And there is a very clearly outlined every five year look at how that entire country is going to transform. We just don't have that point of view in the United States. So again this is the tick tock thing is partially about competition but it also signals a challenge that we have in the US going forward. We have to have some type of coordinated effort if we're going to remain competitive not just from a business point of view but when we think about our national and international competitiveness whether that comes to talent or security or even geopolitics. Yeah. Remind us what's at stake because we all like to talk about a race. But many of us forget what the winning of it really means and why many in Washington and more broadly in Silicon Valley and everywhere are worried about China leading when it comes to artificial general intelligence or even superintelligence. So some of this has to do with the chipsets themselves the technology itself and where China has made some of those inroads. So we sort of move beyond the point where data is all that matter. Hardware matters very much going forward because that has implications for everything from pharmaceuticals to robotics. You know it cuts across every industry. And at the moment we are at a bit of a disadvantage because China has pushed very far ahead in the future of telecommunications and the hardware needed for that where they are deploying throughout Africa. You know all of this is happening at a critical moment where the United States is retreating from a global stage. And you know that just sets us up for some significant challenges going forward especially because technology is now part and parcel of everything that we do. And we haven't even mentioned where we're trying to see 2029 go for quantum for example. How much is that going to be something we talk about in 2026. Well there have been some significant breakthroughs already in 2025. And you know that that's come from sort of the usual suspects. Google had some pretty big breakthroughs as did Microsoft. And effectively what this means is we're moving from theory into actual use cases and practice. So it doesn't mean everybody's going to have a quantum computer next year. It does mean that the application becomes more accessible. But here too we don't see a national perspective the way that we do in China. You know we just have to start marshalling our resources in a cohesive direction. Again not not not such that it is state dictated but so that we have policy certainty. We have investment structures in place and we are all able to row the boat of technology forward together.

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