I keep wondering why the US claims it needs to keep ahead of China, lest all be lost. This is not a zero sum game, and the difference between first and second place seems likely to be a few months at most. A few month lead doesn't seem to me like that much of an advantage, even if it is maintained over years (which is not a given, the lead could go back and forth). And finally, this is not a race with a single goal (like landing the first man on the Moon). One side could be ahead with regard to, say, math proofs, while the other side could be ahead with chemistry applications or something.

If AGI is the goal and something like the Singularity is even a remote possibility, the difference between first and second place could be effectively infinite. Given China’s suppression of human rights, it’s not a chance I would want my government to take.

Authoritarianism requires a boogeyman to point and shriek at. It is required to have a big bad scary evil (and RED) enemy to justify the constant erosion of democracy and civil rights.

That's pretty much it. The reasons don't really go much deeper. There are deeper threads you can pull at and more well reasoned and thought out objections to China, but those are academic. The people in power don't care/can't comprehend anything more sophisticated than "communism bad".

Fear mongering is a great way to obtain and maintain political and economic power. It can work with internal or external opponents but if you want to avoid or minimize internal strife (which can lead to instability and a loss of power) then it is best to use an external opponent. This is not a new phenomenon, it's been part of the political playbook for centuries.

China is spending about 15% of what we’ve spent on datacenter buildout. If we’re in a race with them it would seem like they aren’t even trying to beat us.