May 17, 2026
As the United States and China compete for dominance in artificial intelligence, energy is emerging as a critical battleground. Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson warns that while the US still leads in AI technology, electricity shortages could become a major constraint as data center demand surges. Former US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns says China’s enormous investments in transmission, renewables, batteries, and power generation are already reshaping global supply chains, while Hoover Institution senior fellow Elizabeth Economy argues Beijing’s clean-energy strategy is as much about economic and geopolitical power as climate policy. Together, their assessments point to a growing reality: the AI race may depend not just on chips and software, but on generating enough power to sustain the technology.