China opposes US ban on govt agencies from using DeepSeek

Beijing has voiced opposition to a US government ban on agencies using AI tools from Chinese startup DeepSeek, arguing that the restriction overstates the concept of national security. The United States and China are engaged in a race for AI dominance, with accusations of technology theft and security threats surfacing recently.

The US Department of Homeland Security banned DeepSeek-developed products and tools from third parties on Monday, citing the risk of sensitive data sharing with China. Beijing's foreign ministry vowed to protect Chinese businesses on Tuesday against the ban. China has consistently opposed expanding the national security concept and politicizing science, technology, and trade issues.

The Department of Homeland Security can issue guidelines to civilian agencies but not military or intelligence services. The statement warned that DeepSeek's models pose multiple threat vectors, potentially leading to sensitive data transfer to China if used by US government employees or vendors. The servers are located in China, where the legal system grants extensive government access to private company infrastructure.

DeepSeek, a leading Chinese AI lab, gained attention in January 2025 with a low-cost, high-performance chatbot, challenging US assumptions of dominance. The company unveiled a new model, V4, in April and released an updated, faster, lightweight version in May. Despite the competition, China and the US established an AI incident communication channel in September, with leaders expected to discuss the topic again at a summit in Shenzhen next month.