OPINION:
Industry and government officials widely believed that American frontier models were six months ahead of Chinese competitors. That lead shrank last month when the China-based Moonshot AI released its new model Kimi K3.
This Chinese model is competitive with America’s leading artificial intelligence models by some measures. It also could cost 40% less to run. How we respond to this development will shape American competitiveness for decades to come. A world in which China dominates AI would threaten our security and prosperity.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has closed the AI gap with the help of illicit activities, including distillation attacks and chip smuggling. Beijing uses these unethical methods because it lacks access to the advanced compute necessary to train and run AI models effectively.
Moonshot AI even admitted that it doesn’t have enough advanced compute to serve Kimi K3 to customers at scale.
Advanced compute requires memory and logic “chips.” These cannot be made without complex semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME). The CCP is completely reliant on foreign SME, making it its Achilles’ heel. Beijing must be denied access to critical SMEs.
We introduced the Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware (MATCH) Act to preserve that chokepoint.
SME makes advanced chips possible. It consists of lithography machines and hundreds of etch tools, testing systems and specialized chemicals. A handful of American, Dutch and Japanese firms almost exclusively control SME production. Despite spending billions trying, Beijing still can’t replicate these tools.
But our leverage is slipping away — and the stakes aren’t just economic. They directly affect American security and values.
Beijing wants to dominate AI. The CCP believes that it can use AI to cancel out America’s military and innovation edge. The Chinese military is already testing AI-directed drone swarms and cyber operations.
The CCP regularly uses AI to surveil its own people. Concerningly, there is no clean line between civilian and military use by the CCP. Under Beijing’s military-civil fusion strategy, equipment sold to a “civilian” chip factory can be redirected to a military-linked user.
This gives CCP control over the tech stack — a fundamental threat to our national security.
Since the first Trump administration, we have sought to keep this critical technology away from Chinese chipmakers. That effort continues to be hindered by the same problem: American export controls stop at our borders but the equipment does not.
American companies are barred from selling to these firms, but to date, good-faith efforts to get our allies to match this approach have fallen short. This hurts American businesses, workers and security.
The bipartisan MATCH Act is the strongest attempt to fix this. The idea is simple: Don’t let the CCP buy tools that it can’t yet build at scale. Our bill designates China’s top chipmakers — along with their subsidiaries and their affiliates — as off-limits.
The MATCH Act wouldn’t just limit equipment sales. It would also limit the maintenance, calibration and software updates that keep that equipment running. Without original parts and expert servicing, China’s imported machines would slowly degrade and fail.
Replacing these foreign imports with unproven domestic copies would be difficult and costly to build. Beijing would be forced to rebuild the world’s most complex supply chain from scratch, buying the U.S. and allies years to stay ahead in the global tech race.
Our bill leads with diplomacy. We want to negotiate with our allies and provide them a real but reasonable timeframe to match our controls. But if they are unable to do so, U.S. jurisdiction would automatically extend to cover their equipment.
Washington has been negotiating with the Netherlands, Japan and other allied toolmaking countries since 2022. But these talks have left concerning gaps and need renewed momentum. Beijing isn’t waiting for us to agree. A firm deadline will give the diplomacy urgency.
The MATCH Act would also support American business and workers and create a level playing field. It would end a system where American companies follow stricter rules than their European and Asian counterparts. Under the legislation, new rules on American firms would only kick in once matching rules apply to foreign competitors too.
Meanwhile, the tools kept out of Chinese fabs would be redirected to American and allied chipmakers.
History has already proven what the CCP does with a chokepoint. It has weaponized its control over rare earth minerals and built its own blacklists. The CCP’s stated goal is total self-sufficiency in chips. The moment this happens, the CCP will drop foreign suppliers entirely.
The window to protect America’s AI lead won’t stay open. Kimi K3 has made this clear. Every month of delay gives the CCP time to backfill supply chains, expand its own toolmaking and narrow the technology gap this bill is designed to preserve.
The MATCH Act is widely expected to be included as part of the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress is working to pass. We have a narrowing chance to shut down an export control loophole that has quietly undercut American policy and AI leadership for years. We can’t let this opportunity slip away.
• Sen. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska Republican, is chairman of Senate Foreign Relations’ East Asia, the Pacific, & International Cybersecurity Policy subcommittee. Sen. Andy Kim, New Jersey Democrat, is ranking member of Senate Banking’s National Security and International Trade and Finance subcommittee.
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