Business Insider reports that Canadian investor Kevin O'Leary recently stated that the real factor likely driving further cooperation among the United States, Canada, and Mexico is not political rhetoric, but rather concerns about China's continued rise in competitiveness. As competition intensifies in areas such as AI, energy, and critical infrastructure, the three North American nations may place greater emphasis on economic realities.
O'Leary focuses on AI and energy competition
In an interview video posted on X and Instagram, O'Leary said that China's catch-up in AI, technology, military, and power generation capabilities will force North America to reassess its cooperation methods. He believes that the United States, Canada, and Mexico each have different strengths, and that acting separately would be more costly.
According to him, Canada possesses energy and critical mineral resources, the United States has scale and innovation capabilities, and Mexico plays a vital role in the North American supply chain and the overall economy. In his view, long-term cooperation is not only a policy choice but will gradually become an economic necessity.
Several corporate executives recently mentioned pressure from China.
Such statements are not isolated incidents. Recently, many figures in the US technology and industry sectors have publicly discussed the competitive pressure posed by China. The report mentions that Musk previously stated that China's power generation capacity is already significantly higher than that of the United States; and that if its computing power is sufficient, China could become a global leader in AI.
- Both OpenAI and Anthropic mentioned that Chinese models are catching up.
- Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 has garnered attention.
- Executives from several automakers discussed China's electric vehicle manufacturing capabilities.
In the automotive industry, executives from Ford, Rivian, and Uber have repeatedly discussed the efficiency and execution capabilities of Chinese automakers in electric vehicle manufacturing. The article uses this to illustrate that China's competitiveness has become a recurring topic of discussion within the American business community.
Trump's tariffs exacerbate internal friction in North America
However, the report also points out that North America is not currently in a smooth integration phase. US President Trump's imposition of another 50% tariff on some Canadian goods in July has further escalated tensions within the region. This means that there is still a significant gap between O'Leary's stated necessity for cooperation and the actual policies in place.
O'Leary's statement is also related to his recent efforts to promote data center construction. The report mentions that his venture capital firm, O'Leary Ventures, is developing large-scale data center projects in Utah, USA, and Canada, but these projects have encountered some opposition in those regions.
