CHINA REJECTS US ALLEGATIONS OF AI TECHNOLOGY THEFT

China has rejected allegations from the United States that Chinese artificial intelligence companies have been systematically copying or extracting technology from leading American AI models. Beijing described the accusations as unfounded and accused Washington of using the claims to restrict Chinese competition and maintain dominance in the rapidly developing artificial intelligence industry.

The dispute follows a joint advisory from US security agencies, including the FBI, NSA and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which accused six Chinese AI firms of using a technique known as “distillation” to obtain capabilities from advanced American AI systems. The companies mentioned include DeepSeek, Alibaba and Moonshot AI, while US officials said the alleged activities had been taking place since at least late 2024.

Distillation involves using the responses or outputs of an existing AI model to help train another system. While the technique can be a legitimate method of developing and improving AI models, US authorities alleged that some Chinese companies used it on a large scale to extract capabilities from proprietary American systems. The accusations have raised fresh concerns over intellectual property, cybersecurity and the growing technological rivalry between Washington and Beijing.

China’s Commerce Ministry dismissed the allegations and argued that the United States was attempting to monopolise the AI sector and suppress the development of Chinese technology. Chinese officials also defended the country’s efforts to build independent AI capabilities, while calling for greater cooperation between the two countries rather than confrontation over emerging technologies.

The latest dispute comes as US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare for further high-level engagement, with artificial intelligence expected to remain an important issue in discussions between the two countries. The disagreement could add another layer of tension to an already complicated relationship shaped by trade, technology restrictions, national security concerns and competition for global leadership in AI.