Hong Kong, Sept. 22 -- China made its intentions regarding artificial intelligence (AI) known many years ago. In 2017, for example, the country's Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan outlined a quest to become the "world's primary AI innovation center" by 2030.

Beyond that, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is seeking to dominate and control AI, and to regulate the international rules surrounding its use. In fact, AI is a core pillar of "comprehensive national power" for China, since it wants to gain enduring advantage over competitors.

Given how China already tightly controls the internet, preventing its citizens from accessing the world beyond the Great Firewall, Chinese ascendancy in AI should also be of great ala...