China criticises idea it is in 'malicious competition' over AI

China rejects claim it is in 'malicious competition' over AI

China has pushed back against what it described as "threat narratives" surrounding AI governance, warning against "engaging in confrontation and malicious competition".

The remarks come after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in AI development - but in a way that would stop China from getting ahead in the AI race.

Over the past week, senior figures at leading US AI labs have been warning in very stark language about the possible dangers of AI, with some saying it could wipe out humanity.

US President Donald Trump, however, has said his priority is ensuring the US develops the technology faster than China.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters on Monday that "narratives of threat, confrontation, and malicious competition serve only to disrupt the process of global AI governance and are not in anyone's interest".

"All parties should work together to advance AI in a manner that is open, inclusive, beneficial to all, and oriented toward the good," he added.

His comments underline how difficult it is to reach agreement between the world's two leading AI powers.

An agreement between the US and China to regulate AI development is "next to impossible", says Chang Jun Yan, an assistant professor with the military studies programme at Singapore's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

"As part of each state's core national security interests, cooperation in taking things slower and more safely in relation to AI, is very, very unlikely."

AI is now central to the US-China rivalry as the world's two biggest economies compete for an advantage in advanced technology. Despite US export bans on critical chips, Chinese AI innovation has continued to grow, supported by open-source technology and Beijing's backing.

Many experts still think the US is ahead, while Chinese companies are trying to catch up as they struggle to raise the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested into American AI.

But Beijing, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping himself, has also spoken about the risks AI poses. China must "balance development and security", and introduce and improve relevant laws and ethical guidelines, and strengthen prevention of risks, to "safeguard the interests of the people and national security", state security minister Chen Yixin wrote on Sunday.

He warned about the dangers of "hostile forces" such as foreign intelligence using AI and called for international cooperation.

"There are strong signals that Washington and Beijing share an understanding of frontier risks," Kenton Thibaut, a senior resident China fellow at the Atlantic Council, wrote recently.

China has "technical reasons" to work with the US, she argues, because its developers would be able to see how their models are deployed outside China, and detect and undertsand vulnerabilities.

In July, China established the World AI Cooperation Organisation, which aims to shape global AI governance. And speaking at the Brics summit in India on Sunday, Xi proposed creating a community for open-source AI.

All of this comes as calls for AI regulation grow louder in the US, especially after former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxson said last week that "there is a strong chance that we could all die in the immediate future" if the current pace of development continued.

Since then, top industry bosses such as Amodei have called for a slowdown and more regulation.

"We need ways to ensure that alignment and safety techniques stay ahead of progress in model capabilities," Open AI's chief exective Sam Altman wrote on X on Monday, a view echoed by Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, who said AI development "cannot be controlled by a handful of entities".

But US President Donald Trump downplayed the risks, saying he wanted to keep the US's lead over China "because whoever wins AI, wins".

The competition is intense. Former Anthropic employee Coxson told the BBC that there needed to be "some sort of coordinated slowdown with China, if we're going to avoid a race at an international scale".

As Trump prepares to host Xi at the White House next week, the two sides are trying to include AI on the agenda, South China Morning Post reports.

It is also likely to come up in talks between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, who are trying to meet before next week's summit, the paper said. Vice-Premier He heads the agency that oversees the country's economic planning, including AI development.

While cooperation between the US and China matters, experts say the stakes are high for both countries.

"If China establishes a durable lead in frontier AI, this will not be viewed in Washington as losing a technology race," says Chasen Nevett, managing director at Hong Kong-based firm Forani Investments.

"It will be viewed as losing part of the strategic infrastructure of the next industrial era."