China’s spy chief warns foreign ‘hostile forces’ may use AI to ‘fabricate political rumours’

China's State Security Minister, Chen Yixin, has cautioned that artificial intelligence poses a threat to national security, with foreign entities potentially leveraging the technology to sow political discord. In an article published online on Sunday, Chen spoke at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, warning that "hostile forces" were abusing generative AI to create and disseminate political rumors and harmful information.

This, he said, directly threatened China's political, institutional, and ideological security. The warning comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington later this month, with AI governance and safety set to be part of their discussions. The US tech community has also called for a slower pace of AI development, with leaders such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressing concerns over the rapid pace of technological advancement.

Chen emphasized that AI has become a central battleground in global technological competition and a new front in the strategic rivalry among major powers. While he did not advocate for a halt in technological progress, he singled out specific AI systems, such as Anthropic's Claude Mythos and OpenAI's ChatGPT-5.5-Cyber, for their advanced hacking capabilities that could potentially jeopardize China's critical information infrastructure.

He highlighted the role of AI in military operations, noting that better technology can provide battlefield advantages. To safeguard its technology sovereignty, China must ensure independent control over key core technologies, including advanced computer chips essential for training AI models, wrote Chen.