China Slams US DeepSeek Ban as Violation of Xi-Trump Deal
Beijing accuses Washington of breaking a bilateral AI consensus after the US moved to restrict Chinese AI model DeepSeek.
China publicly condemned the United States on Tuesday for moving to restrict access to the Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek, arguing the action directly contradicts understandings reached between President Xi Jinping and former President Donald Trump, according to Reuters. Beijing's rebuke signals a fresh flashpoint in the ongoing technology rivalry between the world's two largest economies, with AI now firmly at the center of geopolitical dispute.
Chinese officials framed the US restriction as a unilateral breach of what they described as a bilateral consensus forged at the highest levels of leadership. The invocation of the Xi-Trump dialogue suggests Beijing is attempting to use diplomatic precedent as leverage, casting Washington as the party acting in bad faith on technology cooperation agreements.
Read more Greece Confirms It Is Enforcing Iran-Linked Sanctions →
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup that attracted global attention earlier this year after releasing a large language model that rivaled top American systems at a fraction of the reported cost, has become a flashpoint for US national security concerns. American lawmakers and regulators have raised alarms about potential data risks and the possibility that the model could advance China's military and surveillance capabilities.
The standoff reflects the deepening bifurcation of the global AI landscape, where the US and China are each pushing to establish their own technological ecosystems while erecting barriers against the other's advances. Any move to formally ban or restrict DeepSeek in American markets would accelerate that decoupling trend and could prompt retaliatory measures targeting US tech companies operating in China.
Continue reading at Reuters
