PARIS — JD Vance stepped onto the world stage this week for the first time as U.S. vice president, using a high-stakes AI summit in Paris and a security conference in Munich to amplify Donald Trump’s aggressive new approach to diplomacy.

The 40-year-old vice president, who was just 18 months into his tenure as a senator before joining Trump’s ticket, is expected, while in Paris, to push back on European efforts to tighten AI oversight while advocating for a more open, innovation-driven approach.

The AI summit has drawn world leaders, top tech executives, and policymakers to discuss artificial intelligence’s impact on global security, economics, and governance. High-profile attendees include Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, signaling Beijing’s deep interest in shaping global AI standards.

The summit underscores a three-way race for AI supremacy: Europe striving to regulate and invest, China expanding access through state-backed tech giants, and the U.S. under Trump prioritizing a hands-off approach.

Vance’s diplomatic tour continues in Germany, where he will attend the Munich Security Conference and press European allies to increase their commitments to NATO and Ukraine.

Vance’s Debut Abroad

Vance has signaled he will use the Paris summit as a venue for candid discussions with world leaders on AI and geopolitics.

“I think there’s a lot that some of the leaders who are present at the AI summit could do to, frankly — bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to a close, help us diplomatically there — and so we’re going to be focused on those meetings in France,” Vance told Breitbart News.

Vance is expected to meet separately Tuesday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to a person familiar with planning who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, Vance will have a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, with Ukraine and the Middle East on the agenda. Vance, like Trump, has questioned U.S. spending on Ukraine and the broader approach to isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump promised to end the fighting within six months of taking office.

Vance also addressed what he called an “evil trend” in Europe toward censorship.

“We want people to be able to speak their minds, and we believe that free and open debate is actually a good thing. Unfortunately, a lot of our European friends have gone the wrong direction there,” he said.

Vance is attending Munich again, where he may meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

European leaders have been monitoring Trump’s recent statements on threats to impose tariffs on the European Union, take control of Greenland and his suggestion that Palestinians clear out of Gaza once the fighting in the Israel-Hamas conflict ends — an idea flatly rejected by Arab allies.

Fostering AI Advances

The summit, which gathers major players such as Google, Microsoft and OpenAI, “is the first time we’ll have had such a broad international discussion in one place on the future of AI,” said Linda Griffin, vice president of public policy at Mozilla. “I see it as a norm-setting moment.”

A global public-private partnership named “Current AI” will be launched to support large-scale initiatives that serve the general interest.

Nick Reiners, senior geotechnology analyst at Eurasia Group, noted an opportunity to shape AI governance by “moving away from this concentration of power amongst a handful of private actors and building this public interest AI instead.”

However, it remains unclear if the United States will support such initiatives.

“There’s a lot of complicated questions to resolve” around issues like the ability to control AI systems, Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis, founder of Google’s DeepMind research lab, said. “But also I think even more complicated are maybe the geopolitical questions about things like regulation.”

French organizers are also looking for the summit to ignite major investment in Europe, positioning the region as a contender in an industry increasingly shaped by U.S.-China rivalry.

France plans to announce AI private investments worth a total of 109 billion euros ($113 billion) over the coming years, Macron said, presenting it as “the equivalent” of Trump’s Stargate AI data centers project.

On the eve of the summit, Macron posted a series of “deepfake” videos of himself on Instagram, using artificial intelligence to manipulate his voice and image — an effort he said was meant to spark debate on AI’s potential and risks.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun expressed opposition Monday to moves to restrict access to AI tools. The release of DeepSeek has prompted calls in the U.S. Congress to limit its use for security reasons.

“We oppose drawing ideological lines and oppose overstretching national security concepts and politicizing economic and trade issues,” Guo said. He said that China advocates for open-source AI technology and promotes the accessibility of AI services to share the benefits of artificial intelligence with all countries.

Alexandra Reeve Givens, of the Center for Democracy and Technology, warned that the American approach must extend beyond technological competition.

“If it’s just a techno solution that we’re going to out-innovate everybody else, but we’re not going to have the norms, the support, and the human relationship for our global partners to really make American leadership and allyship stick, then it’s a hollow promise,” she said.

Modi Is Co-Hosting the Summit

Modi is co-hosting the summit with Macron in an effort to prevent the sector from becoming a U.S.-China battle.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri stressed the need for equitable access to AI to avoid “perpetuating a digital divide that is already existing across the world.”

Macron and Modi will visit the southern French port city of Marseille Wednesday to inaugurate an Indian Consulate and visit the ITER nuclear research site.

France has become a key defense partner for India, with talks underway on New Delhi purchasing 26 Rafale fighter jets and three Scorpene submarines. Officials in India said that discussions are at the final phase and the deal could be inked in a few weeks.