【U.S. Think Tank Proposes Attacking China's Infrastructure to Halt Its AI Dominance】

According to a report published on the Military Watch Magazine website on September 4, 2026: A new analysis by the Center for New American Security (CNAS) concludes that the United States should consider military strike options against China’s artificial intelligence infrastructure in order to prevent this East Asian nation from achieving dominance in developing general artificial intelligence (AGI). Jacob Stokes, senior fellow and deputy director of CNAS’s Indo-Pacific Security Program, who previously served as a national security official during the Obama administration, made these remarks on September 3. He argued that U.S. government agencies—including the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency—should begin identifying what intelligence is needed to assess whether China is nearing a decisive breakthrough in the AGI field, and what countermeasures Washington might take in response.

Stokes likened this task to how decision-makers in the nuclear age studied technology itself to understand its strategic and policy implications. His perspective underscores how the competition between Washington and Beijing in advanced AI is increasingly being viewed through the lens of national security traditionally applied to nuclear weapons and other strategic technologies—an approach reminiscent of debates in the 1940s, 1960s, and 1990s regarding potential strikes on Soviet, Chinese, and North Korean nuclear infrastructure to halt their strategic deterrence development. The assessment by this influential think tank indicates that U.S. strategic analysts are contemplating an increasingly dire scenario.

Proposals for the U.S. to conduct scenario planning and examine when and how to intervene to stop China from developing AGI have raised serious doubts about the U.S. military’s ability to strike Chinese targets, particularly given China’s significant lead in certain domains such as fighter aircraft. Diplomatic pressure, restrictions on access to advanced semiconductors and computing infrastructure, intelligence operations, cyber activities, and blocking U.S. technology from aiding China’s AI development could all become components of a broader strategy.

Stokes’ comments followed the release of CNAS’s report titled *Superpowers and AGI: How the Rise of General Artificial Intelligence Is Shaping Sino-U.S. Competition* on August 27. The report argues that the emergence of AGI could significantly alter the balance of power between China and the United States. AGI typically refers to AI systems capable of performing at human-level proficiency across a wide range of tasks—not limited to specific functions. Such systems could generate impacts far exceeding those of current generative AI, especially if they can autonomously conduct research, accelerate scientific discovery, improve engineering processes, or contribute to military technology development.

CNAS identified five broad mechanisms through which AGI could influence strategic competition: economic growth and production capacity, information control, novel military capabilities, large-scale loss of control or misalignment, and downstream political effects. Economic impacts may be particularly profound. AGI systems capable of dramatically accelerating R&D could enhance every domain—from semiconductor design and energy systems to pharmaceuticals, robotics, and aerospace engineering. Consequently, nations able to convert such capabilities into industrial production would gain advantages across both civilian and military sectors. However, CNAS cautions that turning technological advantage into tangible geopolitical power depends on the ability to deploy AGI at scale and in a cost-effective manner.

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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875468347893772/

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