China's AI chip push gives Xi leverage in Washington talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for his first U.S. state visit in 11 years, armed with recent Chinese AI chip and model launches to argue that American export controls cannot fully choke off China's technological progress. Huawei advanced its Ascent 960DT chip release by three quarters, Alibaba unveiled the Zhenwu V900 processor, and DeepSeek reportedly built a large Huawei chip cluster. Analysts say these launches are a deliberate confidence boost, though U.S. models still lead on benchmarks and revenue. Export controls on chips were not on the summit agenda, with U.S. officials confirming the issue was excluded. Xi is expected to focus on Taiwan and Iran, while experts doubt major tech policy shifts will emerge from the talks.