House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling for top artificial intelligence leaders to sit down with Congress and the White House and agree on safety legislation — but said the US cannot cede ground to China.

The government needs to move quickly to address growing warnings about AI, including warnings that advanced systems could pose an “end of humanity” threat, Johnson said during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.

“We have to do this right, safely and wisely,” Johnson said, arguing that AI leaders, Congress and the White House need to come together as soon as possible to “figure out what the right balance is.”

He added: “We cannot put a moratorium on this because China will overlap us, and that’s the challenge — national security balanced with the immediate security of making sure the models are safe.”

Johnson’s comments came two days after House Democrats urged him to cancel recess over what they call a “catastrophic risk posed by advanced artificial intelligence.”