Q: Recently, some senior U.S. officials publicly said that they would launch investigations on Chinese AI companies over their so-called “distillation” of frontier U.S. models, and might impose sanctions on Chinese companies on grounds such as the alleged “theft of U.S. intellectual property”. What is China’s comment on this?

A: We have taken note of the relevant developments. China always opposes the U.S. practice of politicizing and instrumentalising technology and trade and economic issues, stigmatizing Chinese companies and imposing sanctions on them on various fabricated grounds. The U.S. side turns a blind eye to the fact that the release dates of relevant Chinese companies’ AI models are very close to those of frontier U.S. models, and that some Chinese models have already taken the lead in certain capabilities. It has slapped labels such as “distillation” and “theft of U.S. intellectual property” on Chinese companies, and has threatened to suppress and sanction them. These practices lack factual basis, have no legal grounding, and apply double standards in practice. They constitute a typical form of AI hegemonism.

Innovation is not the preserve of any single party. Chinese AI companies have long been engaged in basic research, adhered to the practice of self-reliance, self-strengthening and open cooperation, and embraced the vision of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, driving rapid progress in AI technology and achieving remarkable results in a growing number of fields, including front end coding capabilities. It is understood that many U.S. AI companies have distilled Chinese models in their R&D and training. It is noteworthy that numerous U.S. industry players have openly opposed the U.S. threat of sanctions against Chinese AI companies. Nearly 200 U.S. startups have urged the U.S. government not to cut off access to Chinese open-source models, arguing that doing so would weaken the competitiveness of U.S. companies. Some large U.S. multinational companies have stated that model distillation is a widely used industry technique, and that U.S. companies should be allowed to use Chinese open-source AI models.

China urges the U.S. to listen to the objective and rational voices of the industry in both countries, correct its hegemonic mindset, and stop smearing Chinese companies and threatening them with sanctions. For any action that causes substantive harm to China’s interests, China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. It is hoped that the U.S. side will earnestly implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, work with China in the same direction, strengthen dialogue and communication on AI, jointly develop AI for the positive and for good, and benefit both countries and the rest of the world by advancing and improving AI governance. (Released on July 27)