> Where has Trump's agenda collapsed? I might have missed the press release.
Well, it's too early to say if it has happened in this case. But we've seen it happen again and again, so it will not be a surprise if it happens.
> And why would a curveball on AI throw off an agenda around trade, immigration and military engagement? I don't follow.
Well, trade restrictions against China have just backfired spectacularly. So further trade restrictions may not seem as good an idea. And to start trade wars, you need a strong economy. And at the moment America's economy is entirely driven by the AI bubble, as it is the value of the AI stocks that has separated the economy from the European trend.
It is very likely that military engagement will be driven by, or affected by, developments in AI. And there's no doubt that Taiwan's situation is heavily affected by chip production.
> Do you feel the Chinese government closely controls AI research and timed this response?
No evidence, but I am not naive enough to think it's out of the range of possibility. I don't follow your reasoning, more likely the timing of the release is all they had to modify - which is quite trivial for any government. To not question that would be very naive. They have _every motive_.