ع
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that fearmongering, confrontation and vicious competition will only disrupt the process of global AI governance and serve the interests of no one, according to Bloomberg News. Guo made the remarks at a regular briefing in Beijing in response to recent calls from US technology executives to slow advanced AI development and suggestions that a Chinese advantage could threaten American national security. The spokesperson added that countries should promote open, inclusive, universally beneficial and ethical AI development, a position reiterated in multiple official statements over the past year.
The criticism follows a joint advisory released on September 9 by the US National Security Agency, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation that accused six Chinese AI firms of engaging in aggressive, malicious and targeted distillation activities at an industrial scale, Reuters reported. The agencies named DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Alibaba, MiniMax, StepFun and Z.AI as having extracted billions of tokens through millions of queries to leading American models including Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok since at least late 2024. US officials framed the efforts as likely conducted with Chinese government awareness and as a core element of Beijing’s AI strategy rather than a supplementary technique.
China’s commerce ministry described the US allegations as lacking factual basis and legal grounding while accusing Washington of applying double standards and interfering in normal commercial activities, a Reuters dispatch detailed. The ministry noted that distillation represents a widely used neutral technical method employed by companies in both countries and warned that any pretextual actions to contain Chinese AI firms would prompt resolute countermeasures from Beijing. A foreign ministry spokesperson separately expressed hope that the United States would implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of both countries and refrain from false accusations and smearing China.
The exchange comes as the administration of President Donald Trump prepares for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States later in September and as both sides gear up for an AI safety dialogue scheduled for mid-September, according to Reuters reporting. Earlier in July, China’s commerce ministry had labeled similar US moves as AI hegemonism after officials indicated potential investigations and sanctions over alleged technology theft involving firms like Moonshot AI. Those statements similarly threatened all necessary measures to safeguard Chinese interests if substantive harm occurred.
An analysis published by ThinkChina on September 3 highlighted how the China-US AI rivalry has shifted from a focus on individual models and computing power toward competition over technological ecosystems, international rules and global influence. The piece noted Beijing’s interest in moving from rule-taker to rule-maker status in AI governance, including proposals for a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. Chinese officials have repeatedly stressed self-reliance in science and technology as the foundation for the country’s rapid AI advances.
Nearly 200 US startups had previously urged the American government not to restrict access to Chinese open-source models, arguing such steps would undermine domestic competitiveness, a Chinese commerce ministry statement referenced in July reporting by Sinoism indicated. US industry figures have also publicly opposed threats of sanctions against Chinese AI developers in some cases. Chinese spokespeople have pointed to these positions as evidence that the US approach does not reflect broad consensus even within American technology circles.
