For a start, Washington, amend the H1-B visa process

The US-China tech competition is unlikely to slow down in the near term, particularly with the arrival of rapidly maturing commercial artificial intelligence. Though not without risk, even the most nascent AI applications hold significant promise for countries able to effectively develop and integrate their potential to support national goals.

A major factor in a country’s ability to harness AI is its human capital. The abundance of a highly skilled AI-relevant labor force will increasingly serve as a major determinant in the US-China tech competition. Whichever country hosts the leading minds on AI will enjoy a critical first-mover advantage in defining the direction of the emerging AI-integrated global economy.

Despite the high stakes of ongoing tech competition, recent diplomatic overtures between the two sides indicate a shared appetite for peaceful rivalry.

The legacy US-China Science and Technology Agreement was extended, though temporarily, in early March. Less than two months earlier, a readout of a late January meeting between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok stressed the need to avoid “veering into conflict or confrontation” in all domains of the relationship.

A nod to an anticipated spring 2024 bilateral on AI further indicates Washington and Beijing’s mutual willingness to impose guardrails on a fast-moving industry integral to the national interests of both. Yet, even with signs of limited rapprochement between the two, the perceived existential urgency characterizing the great power tech competition remains high among decision-makers in both countries.

Part of the anxiety stems from fear regarding the weakened post-pandemic global economy, which –