Washington DC, July 3 -- Defending his administration's strategic focus on emerging technologies, US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) asserted that the United States is outpacing China in artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency, while simultaneously dismissing conflict-of-interest concerns regarding his family's highly lucrative digital asset ventures.

Speaking in an extensive interview with CNBC's Joe Kernen, Trump argued that global dominance in cryptocurrency is a matter of national security, warning that any American hesitation would hand the advantage to Beijing.

"The way I view crypto's a little different; we have to be at the top, otherwise China's going to take it over. If we're not going to do it, China's...