DOMINANT ANGLE
Stockholm fears that a closed-door race for artificial intelligence between Washington and Beijing will dictate, without its input, the technological rules that apply to the rest of the democratic world.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Donald Trump is to personally welcome Xi Jinping on Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews, a move deemed unusual for an American president, ahead of a summit scheduled for Thursday.
- 02
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wrote in an open letter that it is crucial for democratic countries to lead the development of artificial intelligence.
- 03
Beijing, one of Tehran's main economic and diplomatic partners, seeks to avoid American sanctions targeting countries trading with Iran, while the threat of a confrontation over Taiwan continues to weigh on the summit.
ANALYSIS
Stockholm, September 23, 2026. The Swedish press is covering Xi Jinping's arrival in Washington, focusing less on protocol and more on a dossier that has taken a backseat in previous summits: artificial intelligence. The Chinese leader is expected to arrive on Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews, where Donald Trump is set to personally greet him, a gesture that Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet describe as an unusual welcome from an American president. Trump has warned that he will "discuss almost everything" with his counterpart.
According to these two newspapers, the trade war remains on the agenda without a guaranteed long-term agreement, and the war in Iran also weighs on the discussions: Beijing, one of Tehran's main economic and diplomatic partners, is seeking to avoid American sanctions targeting countries that trade with Iran. The threat of a military confrontation over Taiwan also looms over the summit: the island has been functioning de facto as an independent state since 1949, but Beijing regularly threatens to conquer it by force. Taiwan has long relied on Washington's support, but under Trump, the American position is seen as increasingly open to interpretation.
However, it is artificial intelligence that, according to Svenska Dagbladet, is set to dominate the summit scheduled for Thursday, following Xi's arrival. The two countries are competing to lead the technological race; Trump has repeated that whoever wins AI wins everything, while Beijing accuses Washington of seeking a monopoly through restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductors. Dagens Nyheter talks about a new area of conflict: American tech giants, worried about an uncontrolled race, are calling for restrictions on technology transfers to China. The head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, wrote in a highly commented open letter that it is "decisive that democratic countries lead the development" of AI.
Experts cited by Svenska Dagbladet consider the chances of broad cooperation on AI to be limited, even though Washington has proposed a joint alert mechanism for AI-related incidents before the meeting. For the Swedish press, the stakes go beyond the bilateral duel: Amodei's appeal implicitly includes countries like Sweden, spectators of a summit where technological rules that will apply to all are being negotiated between two capitals only.
