Rep. Ro Khanna Calls for US-China AI Treaty, Writes to DeepSeek and Other Chinese Firms
Rep. Ro Khanna asked DeepSeek, Alibaba, and Moonshot AI to disclose superintelligence plans, safeguards, and kill switches. He also urged ODNI to assess US responses to AI labs losing control, while pursuing a US-China treaty banning recursive self-improvement.
In September 2026, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) sent letters to three Chinese AI companies and a US intelligence agency calling for a formal treaty between the United States and China to prevent AI systems from causing catastrophic harm. The letters were shared exclusively with The Verge.
Khanna, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on China, wrote to DeepSeek, Alibaba, and Moonshot AI asking for documentation about their efforts to achieve “superintelligence” and recursive self-improvement (RSI) — a process by which AI systems improve themselves. He also asked whether the companies had implemented safeguards and “kill switches,” and whether they would submit to inspections by a non-governmental agency if a treaty were reached. Separately, he asked the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to assess how the US would respond to an AI lab losing control of its systems, and to evaluate China’s approach to catastrophic AI risk.
The letters follow a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which both leaders agreed to continue dialogue on AI. Khanna called that outcome “constructive” but “not nearly adequate.” He was also skeptical of a planned meeting between the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and US tech executives, comparing it to letting pharmaceutical companies set their own drug safety rules.
Khanna’s longer-term goal is a treaty banning RSI and establishing monitoring of frontier AI labs. He acknowledged that outcome is unlikely in the near term and said he would settle for a joint working group of experts from both countries. Sen. Bernie Sanders has made a similar call, though Republican lawmakers have questioned whether China would honor such an agreement.
Khanna conceded the Chinese companies are unlikely to respond fully, noting they ignored an earlier letter. He said his aim is to “shame them” and “spark a debate” about AI safety within China. Neither the companies nor ODNI immediately responded to requests for comment.