Technology

Trump Admin Sounds Alarm On Global Chinese AI Expansion

Photo: triin

The global expansion of Chinese artificial intelligence data centers sounded alarm bells for the Trump administration, leading them to create an American coalition that seeks to counter China.

Huawei, a major Chinese AI infrastructure manufacturer, pitched the Egyptian government to deliver hardware to build data center for military, surveillance and other public sector uses, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The Trump administration reportedly pitched Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Microsoft about establishing a coalition to counter Huawei’s bid to Egypt.

The proposal could help China compete against America’s dominance in global AI infrastructure and set Huawei as a key provider of high-tech infrastructure in Africa and the Middle East.

Huawei pitched African governments such as Egypt and Kenya to use its AI chips for education and health care, Bloomberg reported. Kenya has an American data center meant to serve as a symbol of the Biden administration’s African AI diplomacy.

The Commerce Department in May 2025 warned the world that using Huawei’s Ascend AI chips could result in penalties, although Bloomberg stated it remains unclear if American officials invoked this guidance in conversations with the Egyptian government.

“Egypt is one of dozens of countries with whom we are speaking about US technology leadership on artificial intelligence,” a State Department spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “America leads the world in AI technologies, and American AI benefits the world by setting the gold standard for technology that is responsibly developed, rooted in transparency and free from ideological bias and manipulation.”

The spokesperson added the U.S. “stands ready to partner with countries on AI development and deployment in ways that respect sovereignty and expand capabilities,” the spokesperson said.

It remains unclear how far the American government’s diplomatic counterweight to Huawei’s reported bid has progressed.

The Chinese AI company reportedly pitched two countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia with AI chips. However, it only offered lower-powered chips because it had not ramped up production of its higher-end 910C model chips.

Huawei continues to consider if it deploy its AI hardware to Latin America, Mark Chen, president of Huawei Latin America, told the South China Morning Post in June.

Malaysia announced an AI deal powered by Huawei chips, although it quickly walked away from the project after the Trump administration voiced concerns, per Bloomberg. The southeast Asian country serves as one of the largest growing countries for AI data centers.

Huawei did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

The Trump administration has an export promotion program that would offer American government financing for American-based AI products that might otherwise opt for less expensive Chinese AI platforms.

Although this move may expand China’s AI foothold across the world, the United States still dominates on the data center front.

The United States hosts 5,427 data centers, more than ten times any other country, according to Stanford University’s 2026 AI Index Report. China pales in comparison, with 449 data centers. The United States has 59 notable AI models, while China has 35, per the report.