‘Unfounded accusations’: China rejects US claims of 'malicious' AI distillation by its firms

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. (AP Photo) China on Wednesday rejected US allegations that its artificial intelligence companies are engaged in “aggressive, malicious” efforts to extract capabilities from advanced American AI models, calling on Washington to stop making what it described as unfounded accusations.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the US to “refrain from making unfounded accusations or smears” against China. It added that both China and the US are major AI powers and should strengthen cooperation.According to the Associated Press, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China’s AI development resulted from “high-level technological self-reliance and strength” and urged all sides to promote AI development that is open, inclusive and beneficial.Mao’s comments came a day after the FBI, National Security Agency (NSA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint cybersecurity advisory accusing Chinese AI developers of “distilling” capabilities from leading US models since at least late 2024.The advisory named Chinese companies including DeepSeek, Alibaba, Moonshot AI and Z.AI and said their activities were ...