Comparing Trump to Xi Jinping is an unfunny joke. Americans have lost the plot on what true authoritarianism really looks like.
America has no chance vs China in the AI race precisely because the President of the CCP has far more power in his country than the President of the US. Its not even close.
Okay, so you have not been paying attention to current events. The US is now a full fascist autocracy. Nothing trump does while in office can be prosecuted. There are masked police in the streets arresting anyone they want. There simply are no more consequences for breaking the law and ignoring the courts. You may not think the US is authoritarian on the level of China, but it's catching up very quickly.
For comparison, could you identify the other countries that you consider to be full fascist autocracies? Something more western than China or North Korea.
America has no chance vs China in the AI race precisely because the President of the CCP has far more power in his country than the President of the US. Its not even close.