On May 15, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) gestures while meeting with US President Donald Trump (left), who is visiting Zhongnan Haiyuan in Beijing.
Evan Vucci | AFP | Getty Images
Hello, this is Leonie Kidd from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.
This week, for President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, AI will become more than just a technological issue, it will become the new front in the battle for economic and political supremacy.
But what sacrifices should we make to stay ahead in the AI race?
Read more.
What you need to know today
US President Donald Trump has announced the creation of an “AI Army” led by an advisor known as the “AI Emperor.”
“We do not intend to hinder or stifle the growth of this great industry in any way,” Trump said on his social media platform TruthSocial. “Rather, we care for it, we help it, and we watch it grow! But we also look for BAD, and that can be done very easily with our existing criminal and civil justice systems.”
There were no other details from President Trump’s statement following a week of turmoil for the AI industry after Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI called for a slowdown in model development while Nvidia and Meta downplayed safety concerns.
AI is expected to take center stage at the long-awaited state meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng over the weekend and agreed to establish a U.S.-China AI Dialogue with a reporting mechanism for AI incidents.
Invite CEO
No sugar coating
In Europe, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing increasingly tough challenges to his leadership following his crushing defeat in local elections over the weekend.
Both far-right and far-left parties made gains in two separate regional votes. Merz acknowledged the party’s results were a “disaster” but remained defiant about his own leadership.
“What we need to do now will require guts, fortitude and perseverance,” Merz said in a statement shortly after the exit polls.
Russia
And finally…
President Trump says planned Arch would become a ‘military complex’ capable of housing drones and snipers
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the giant arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would be a “top-of-the-line military complex” that could house drones and snipers while storing ammunition.
This is another example of President Trump’s insistence that efforts to beautify the White House and the city also serve defensive purposes. President Trump has called the new White House banquet hall a “military complex” and has argued that it is necessary for national security purposes.
— AP
