Kevin O’Leary Says China’s Rise Will Ultimately Drive Deeper North American Economic Integration

Venture capitalist and "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary believes strategic competition with China, particularly in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, will become the defining force pushing the United States, Canada and Mexico toward closer economic integration, even as political tensions and trade disputes persist.

Speaking in a video posted Sunday on X and Instagram, the Canadian businessman noted that concerns over China's growing technological and industrial capabilities would outweigh political disagreements across North America, making regional cooperation an economic imperative.

"There is only one thing that would drive economic integration in North America: the fear of China," O'Leary said.

He said the race for leadership in artificial intelligence, advanced technology, military capabilities and power generation would encourage Washington, Ottawa and Mexico City to strengthen economic ties in order to remain globally competitive.

"As the race for AI, energy, and critical infrastructure accelerates, economic reality will outweigh political disagreements because the United States, Canada, and Mexico are stronger when they work together," O'Leary wrote in the caption accompanying the video.

He outlined what he sees as complementary strengths across the three economies.

"Canada has the energy and critical minerals, the United States has the scale and innovation, and Mexico plays a vital role in the North American economy," O'Leary said. "In the long run, cooperation is not just good policy, it's an economic necessity."

His comments come as governments and corporations increasingly view artificial intelligence as a strategic industry with implications extending beyond commercial competition to national security, economic resilience and geopolitical influence. AI development depends heavily on access to advanced semiconductors, large-scale computing infrastructure, reliable electricity supplies and critical minerals, areas where North American cooperation could provide competitive advantages.

Canada possesses abundant reserves of minerals such as nickel, cobalt and graphite that are essential for batteries and semiconductor supply chains, while the United States remains home to many of the world's leading AI companies and cloud computing providers. Mexico has become an increasingly important manufacturing hub, benefiting from nearshoring as companies diversify production away from Asia.

O'Leary's remarks echo concerns voiced by several prominent technology and business leaders about China's accelerating progress across strategic industries.

In a recent interview with The Economist, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said China already generates significantly more electricity than the United States and argued that sufficient computing capacity could allow the country to become the global leader in artificial intelligence.

Leading U.S. AI developers have also highlighted the narrowing technology gap. OpenAI and Anthropic executives have acknowledged that Chinese AI companies are making rapid advances in large language models, while Moonshot AI's recently introduced Kimi K3 model has attracted attention for demonstrating capabilities approaching those of leading frontier AI systems.

Competition extends beyond AI. Executives across the automotive sector, including Ford CEO Jim Farley, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, have repeatedly praised Chinese automakers for their speed, manufacturing efficiency and competitiveness in electric vehicles, underscoring China's growing influence across advanced manufacturing industries.

Yet O'Leary's vision of greater North American integration comes at a time of heightened trade friction within the region.

President Donald Trump recently imposed a new round of tariffs, including 50% duties on some Canadian goods, adding to trade tensions between two of North America's closest economic partners. The measures have complicated commercial relations even as policymakers continue to emphasize supply chain security and domestic manufacturing.

The contrast highlights a central challenge facing North America: balancing short-term political disputes with long-term interests. While tariffs and trade disagreements can disrupt cross-border commerce, many business leaders argue that competition with China is creating a stronger incentive for regional cooperation in sectors such as semiconductors, clean energy, artificial intelligence and critical minerals.

O'Leary has been an outspoken advocate for expanding AI infrastructure across North America. Through O'Leary Ventures, he is developing large-scale data center projects in Utah and Canada, noting that increasing computing capacity will be essential to maintaining the region's competitiveness in artificial intelligence, even as some projects face opposition from local communities over their energy consumption and environmental impact.

His view reflects that of policymakers and investors who increasingly see AI infrastructure, energy production and supply chain security as interconnected pillars of economic competitiveness.