China says US accusations of AI theft are 'groundless'

BEIJING: On September 9, China dismissed US claims that Chinese AI labs had stolen American model capabilities as unfounded, amid a tech rivalry. The US Cybersecurity Agency released a warning on Tuesday, alleging major Chinese AI firms such as DeepSeek and Moonshot AI systematically pilfered capabilities through large-scale knowledge transfer tactics.

This came before a prospective White House summit in September where President Donald Trump might meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, with AI likely to be a key subject. China responded on Wednesday, labeling the accusations as baseless. The Ministry of Commerce declared the US stance as an attempt to establish industrial dominance, citing double standards.

The advisory detailed how firms including DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Alibaba, MiniMax, StepFun, and Z.AI allegedly employed millions of interactions to unlawfully duplicate US systems, drawing on millions of exchanges and requests. Distillation, the method accused, is common in the industry, but Washington alleges Chinese entities used it extensively to replicate American models at minimal cost.

These actions, possibly with government knowledge, intensified from late 2024, according to the advisory. The Chinese companies contacted for comment were unavailable, with Moonshot AI refusing to respond. The White House faces pressure to react to Chinese AI's rapid advancement, which many firms find more appealing than pricier US alternatives from Anthropic or OpenAI.

In July, over 40 startups penned a letter to the administration, urging caution against banning or heavily regulating foreign AI models, suggesting such measures should only apply to government use. Beijing retaliated by accusing US AI of leveraging Chinese data for training. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning urged the US to avoid baseless accusations against China, emphasizing China's self-reliance in technology. She stressed the importance of AI development for both nations and called for greater cooperation.