How Washington Is Losing the AI Race No One Is Tracking

The United States is losing ground to China in the global AI market due to a mismatch in regulatory approaches rather than a technology deficit. Allies like Spain are choosing Chinese firms such as Huawei for sensitive systems because they are designed to meet strict European Union compliance and documentation requirements, which U.S. vendors often fail to provide. This "documentation gap" is creating a significant national security vulnerability, undermining U.S. exports and threatening allied interoperability. While Washington focuses on deregulation to spur innovation, Beijing is strategically using regulatory compliance as an export tool to achieve long-term strategic lock-in with key partners.