But deploying AI at scale across our economies will require significant public trust in the technology. On both deployment and public trust in AI, China may be years ahead. The Trust GapDeploying AI across our economies will also require public trust. How the West Can Win the AI Deployment RaceTo catch up, the West must pivot from an innovation-only mindset to a deployment-first strategy built on public trust. Such a strategy is neither politically legitimate nor practically transferable to democratic societies, where circumventing public trust would ensure backlash, litigation, and ultimately, failure.