Rep. Ro Khanna Calls for U.S.-China AI Arms Control Agreement and Urges Action on Detained Scholar Min Zin

U.S. Representative Ro Khanna of California emphasized the urgent need for an international arms control agreement between the United States and China regarding artificial intelligence. Speaking in an interview on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," the Democratic congressman warned that an unchecked AI arms race could prove catastrophic for civilization, drawing parallels to nuclear warfare dangers.

Rep. Khanna, who serves as the top Democrat on the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, stated that he previously sent letters to Chinese artificial intelligence firms such as DeepSeek and Alibaba. He urged those companies to follow the lead of American developers like OpenAI and Anthropic in slowing the pace of AI advancement until proper societal guardrails are established. According to Khanna, Chinese firms have not yet responded to these proposals, and he noted that U.S. intelligence agencies—including the FBI, the NSA, and CISA—have warned that China-based AI companies are copying American artificial intelligence on an industrial scale.

Addressing how the United States should handle competition alongside security concerns, Khanna advocated for formal international agreements with Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping. He argued that any comprehensive pact should include international monitoring, data center checks to determine whether models are being utilized for training or inference, and verifiable enforcement tools. Furthermore, Khanna highlighted two core principles that should be prioritized in bilateral discussions: banning recursive self-improving artificial intelligence where humanity could lose control, and implementing safety safeguards to prevent the misuse of AI in biological and nuclear weapons development.

The discussion also touched on domestic policy and executive branch proposals surrounding artificial intelligence governance. When asked about President Trump's recent social media announcement regarding plans to create an "AI czar" and an "AI Force" modeled after the Space Force, Khanna expressed caution, particularly regarding potential offensive capabilities. Instead, Khanna reiterated his call for an independent federal agency modeled after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He suggested that independent technical experts from universities should oversee AI safety, comparing the technology's regulation to how society manages nuclear energy, electricity, and aviation.

Beyond technological policy, the interview addressed diplomatic tensions and the safety of American citizens traveling or conducting business in China. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently designated two U.S. citizens as wrongfully detained by China, one of whom is Min Zin, a scholar and constituent of Rep. Khanna. Zin has been held for 100 days by China's Ministry of State Security without access to legal counsel or a scheduled court date after being charged with endangering national security following his arrival for an academic conference.

Expressing complete solidarity with Secretary Rubio and the China Committee, Rep. Khanna condemned the detention, calling it appalling that American scholars or citizens could be detained or disappeared for their speech or academic work. Khanna noted that broader human rights concerns, including the situation involving Uyghurs, must remain front and center during upcoming diplomatic meetings between U.S. and Chinese leaders.