[🇨🇳] China vs USA

[Saif]

Beijing says US firms train AI models on Chinese examples

Beijing accused US artificial intelligence companies of using Chinese examples to train their models, after US threatened sanctions Chinese firms over 'technology theft'.

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Beijing says US firms train AI models on Chinese examples

AFP
Beijing
Published: 27 Jul 2026, 19: 10

Visitors watch two humanoid robots kickbox at the Unitree booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China, on 18 July 2026 REUTERS

Beijing accused US artificial intelligence companies on Monday of using Chinese examples to train their models, days after Washington threatened sanctions on Chinese firms for allegedly stealing American technology.

"It is understood that many American artificial intelligence enterprises have distilled Chinese models during their research, development and training processes," the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement.

Distillation is a process in which an AI model is trained to mimic the output of a larger, more capable one.

The method is widely used across the industry, but US officials say Chinese firms have deployed it at scale to illicitly copy proprietary American systems.

The Chinese ministry said the US accusations "lack factual basis and legal grounds, adopt double standards in practice, and constitute typical acts of artificial intelligence hegemonism".

"China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate and lawful rights and interests," it added.

Last week, a senior White House official accused Chinese startup Moonshot AI of covertly copying Anthropic's most advanced model to build its Kimi K3.

The latest Moonshot model stunned the US tech industry upon its release, setting off a fresh discussion over the AI rivalry with China.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week threatened sanctions against China, amid reports the US is also weighing a ban or curbs on foreign-made open source models that are often built through distillation.​

 

[Saif]

US to tell dozens of partner countries to pick sides in AI race with China

The US is preparing to tell dozens of countries they must pick sides in the artificial intelligence race with China, warning they will be excluded from a U.S.-led AI coalition if they also sign up for Beijing's competing framework, according to a U.S. official and an internal draft reviewed by...

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US to tell dozens of partner countries to pick sides in AI race with China

Reuters
Washington

U.S. and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration created on 10 April 2025. Reuters

The US is preparing to tell dozens of countries they must pick sides in the artificial intelligence race with China, warning they will be excluded from a U.S.-led AI coalition if they also sign up for Beijing's competing framework, according to a U.S. official and an internal draft reviewed by Reuters.

Washington last year launched the Pax Silica initiative aimed at securing supply chains for AI models, semiconductors and critical minerals, amid a fierce technology rivalry with Beijing.

About two dozen countries have joined, including Kazakhstan, a key potential source of critical minerals that has also joined China's coalition, as well as close U.S. allies such as Japan, Australia and South Korea.

The draft letter, prepared by the State Department, is addressed to the 35 signatories of a U.S. "AI Opportunity Statement" signed in June, which includes members of the non-binding Pax Silica framework and other countries that have expressed a desire to align cooperation on AI with Washington.

By pressing countries to choose sides the U.S. hopes to starve China of resources in a race to make the most sophisticated AI, which could be used for military or economic dominance.

In July, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a rival "World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization", promoting his country's open-weight technology as a challenge to U.S. influence over the fast-moving sector.

Kazakhstan is the only country so far known to have joined both initiatives, setting off alarm bells in Washington.

"To be part of everything is to be part of nothing. Signature of the Pax Silica Declaration is not merely a membership subscription, but a commitment," the letter says, urging countries to "choose deliberately" on AI.

"It cannot be held alongside membership in duplicative initiatives whose expectations conflict with our own," the letter said, without specifically mentioning China.

Reuters could not determine when the U.S. intends to send the letter or whether it might be amended before sending. The draft was undated.

The State Department told Reuters it would not comment on "purportedly leaked internal documents."

China’s embassy in Washington said the country opposes politicizing trade and technology issues. “Such actions will only stifle global AI advances and serve no one’s interests,” an embassy spokesperson said.

The Kazakh embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

'Can't have it both ways'

The Pax Silica agreement aims to push U.S. allies and partners toward joint projects and export controls, and ultimately reduce reliance on adversaries for critical minerals, AI models and the semiconductor chips that power them.

The race between the U.S. and China for technological leadership has reached a pivotal moment, as Chinese open-weight AI models have made rapid gains against proprietary systems from U.S. companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

The exponential growth of the technology's capabilities, including the ability to hack autonomously, has forced a global reckoning over its power.

Beijing is weighing restrictions on overseas access to some of China's leading AI models, highlighting the growing tension with its stringent national security agenda.

The U.S. touted Kazakhstan in June as the first country in Central Asia to join Pax Silica, bringing significant reserves of critical minerals that fuel advanced technologies.

China has used its current near-monopolies over critical minerals as a retaliatory weapon in a tariff war launched last year by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has ramped up U.S. efforts to source the minerals domestically and from allies.

Members of Pax Silica have access to shared investment opportunities in AI-related projects while those who sign the AI Opportunity Statement have symbolically agreed on a "common purpose" and "shared vision" with the U.S., according to the statement posted on the State Department's website.

U.S. officials drafted the letter to make clear that "you can't have it both ways," the U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity given ongoing internal discussions on the issue.

"It's difficult to see how a country can credibly position themselves as trusted partners in one technology ecosystem while simultaneously signing up for an initiative designed by China to advance a competing vision for AI," the official said.​

 

[Saif]

China's Xi seeks to bring large CEO delegation on US visit

President Xi Jinping is preparing a large business delegation to accompany him on his visit to Washington, two sources said, an unusual move given US scepticism towards Chinese investment and Beijing's strained ties with private enterprise. Xi rarely travels abroad with corporate executives, many

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China's Xi seeks to bring large CEO delegation on US visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives at the opening ceremony for the World AI Conference in Shanghai, China, on July 17, 2026. — Pool via REUTERS

President Xi Jinping is preparing a large business delegation to accompany him on his visit to Washington, two sources said, an unusual move given US scepticism towards Chinese investment and Beijing's strained ties with private enterprise.

Xi rarely travels abroad with corporate executives, many of whom fell out ‌of favour after Beijing's regulatory crackdowns on the technology, education and property sectors that began in 2020.

"The White House is not tracking a Chinese CEO delegation," an official said. The White House did not explain what they meant by tracking.

The business delegation for the September 24 summit has not been previously reported. Reuters could not determine which executives would join the delegation.

The move is aimed in part at signalling China's willingness to support investment and commercial ties with the US, while offering the White House some potential economic wins ahead of midterm elections, one of the sources familiar with discussions said.

Chinese companies have faced increasing scrutiny of their US investments and business operations in recent years.

Washington has imposed a 100 per cent tariff on imported Chinese EVs, banned foreign drone, router and robot imports, and ⁠forced the divestiture of TikTok's US operations. It also placed major Chinese tech firms on the Entity List of firms or organisations deemed a threat to national security and on a Pentagon blacklist.

Xi last brought a sizeable business contingent to the US in 2015, including Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Tencent founder Pony Ma, and executives from Chinese banks and state-owned firms.

During that visit, China signed a $38 billion agreement for 300 Boeing aircraft and Xi met US technology executives including Apple's Tim Cook, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

By contrast, US President Donald Trump has travelled to China with large delegations of American executives, including on visits in 2017 and May this year, seeking greater access to Chinese markets.

LARGE US BUSINESS DELEGATION VISITED BEIJING

Trump took 18 American executives, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Elon Musk, to China in May, the sources said.

"My sense is that the Chinese... are going to be more intentional about the role of these business people in having them join the delegation," said Scott Kennedy, a Chinese business expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The participation of executives could prove "really valuable," he said.

Kennedy contrasted the Chinese approach with the organisation of the US delegation in May, which he said was assembled at short notice and whose executives ‌were "more wallflowers ⁠than serious participants."

The US Treasury declined to comment on this story. The Office of the US Trade Representative and the State Department did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. China's commerce ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China's foreign ministry said both countries maintain communication on their leaders' planned interactions this year, without elaborating.

SYMBOLIC SUMMIT

The two nations announced formal mechanisms to manage trade and investment ties in May. However, three separate sources briefed on the matter said the Board of Investment is unlikely to produce significant deliverables at the summit because of the challenging US environment for Chinese investment.

Expectations for the summit remain modest, with limited prospects for major breakthroughs, the sources said.

Beijing and Washington also remain ⁠divided over which products should qualify as "non-sensitive" under the Board of Trade, the three sources said.

About 10 categories of "non-sensitive" goods are being discussed for inclusion, but this could change closer to the summit, one of the sources said.

BOARD OF TRADE

Reaching an agreement on the Board of Trade is one of the main US priorities for the summit along with securing more rare earth export licences for US companies, the sources said.

An unnamed US official said the administration continues to press ⁠Chinese counterparts to address China’s lack of compliance with the agreement they announced in Busan in October that secured a one-year trade truce that paused some export controls and tariffs, as well as other bilateral concerns.

Beijing has pressed for further tariff relief. China's commerce ministry said in July that both sides were exploring reciprocal tariff reductions covering $30 billion worth of products.

While the US Supreme Court in February struck down China-related tariffs imposed ⁠under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Washington subsequently introduced a 10 per cent global import tariff.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Thursday that both countries will make "some announcements on agriculture and non-tariff barriers" during the summit, without providing specifics.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet in early September to discuss summit deliverables, four sources told Reuters. Reuters could not determine the exact date or location of the talks.​