OPINION — On the sidelines of the recent ASEAN conference in Malaysia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Rubio announced that the talks had been “positive and constructive,” and highlighted that chances were good that Presidents Trump and Xi could meet later in the year --- which would be their first meeting since 2019. Notably, Presidents Trump and Xi had a lengthy phone call (focusing on trade/tariff issues) in June 2025, and both had invited each other for respective state visits. As President Trump deals with an increasingly aggressive China, with respect to cyber-attacks, fentanyl production, trade differences, attacks on our infrastructure, visa issues for Chinese students, and the heightened risks of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, what might prove useful for President Trump with respect to negotiations with Xi?
By now, having met Xi on numerous occasions during his first term, President Trump knows him well and is aware of Xi’s intelligence, ruthlessness, resilience, rationality, and his long-term goal, to unify China and Taiwan, and to achieve the ‘Chinese Dream of Rejuvenation,’ making China the most powerful nation in the world by 2049. While President Trump and his national security team have tended to focus on the most salient geopolitical issues in Asia and in the world such as trade/tariffs, Taiwan, the militarization of the South China Sea, Ukraine, North Korea, and fentanyl, the most urgent and potent issues involve intellectual property and the technologies of the future, particularly AI.
Why AI? It’s simple: As Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has previously said, whoever controls AI will control the 21st century. And, clearly, Xi and the Chinese elites and tech industries know that too, which is why China is forging ahead in its research, economic espionage, intellectual property theft, knowledge acquisition, and transfer of AI technology.
What is often lost in this discussion is that it’s much bigger than mere technical issues regarding Huawei, Tik Tok, TSMC, and other cutting-edge technologies. Xi knows this, and so should we. He knows that to achieve his Chinese Dream, controlling Taiwan and its chip-making industry TSMC is not enough. To achieve true primacy, China must control all of the technologies of the 21st Century.
Everyone needs a good nightcap. Ours happens to come in the form of a M-F newsletter that keeps you up to speed on national security. Sign up today.
Even the Vatican has weighed in on this. Pope Leo XIV has also spoken forthrightly about the risks of AI, and the need for all of us to ensure that such technology is used for the common good, “based on the dignity and fundamental freedoms of the human person.” In other words, China too needs to be transparent and open in their AI endeavors and not use AI in wars or economic competition. Putin must know, as President Trump knows, that a world in which China controls all AI would threaten democracies, the world economy, and, perhaps, our very humanity. Therefore, this cannot be allowed to happen, and in this new “Cold War” with China (and its authoritarian allies Russia, Iran, and North Korea) America, and its freedom-loving allies and partners must win.
There is a pertinent historical reference we can look at. During the last Cold War against the USSR, a ‘holy alliance’ between President Reagan and Pope John Paul II to promote ‘Solidarity’ in Poland – with other [Catholic] senior officials such as national security advisor William Clark, Secretary of State Alexander Haig, CIA Director William Casey, LTG Vernon Walters, Vatican Secretary of State Agostino Casaroli, and Vatican envoy Luigi Poggi – which helped lead to the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union.
Presidents Putin and Xi both know their history and are surely cognizant of the above historical circumstances. Aware that American-born Pope Leo XIV met with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (both are Catholic) shortly after his election, Putin and Xi are right to be concerned. And last month, Pope Leo XIV named the first Chinese Bishop of his papacy, pursuant to a controversial [2018] diplomatic agreement negotiated by the late Pope Francis. And so it would appear that all eyes today are on Pope Leo XIV --- as they should be. President Trump would be wise to meet with Pope Leo XIV before meeting with adversary leaders such as Presidents Putin and Xi.
President Trump and his national security team should thereby borrow a page from President Ronald Reagan’s playbook - which led to the demise of the former USSR - and forge a new ‘Holy Alliance’ with Pope Leo XIV and the Holy See, both to seek peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, and to also counter China’s aggressive rise and desire to control AI and the critical technologies of the 21st Century. Our humanity is at stake.
Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent the views or opinions of The Cipher Brief.
The Cipher Brief is committed to publishing a range of perspectives on national security issues submitted by deeply experienced national security professionals.
Have a perspective to share based on your experience in the national security field? Send it to Editor@thecipherbrief.com for publication consideration.
Read more expert-driven national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief
