Beijing hits back at Anthropic CEO's call to curb China's AI development

China’s government has rejected a call by Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei for Washington to limit Beijing’s artificial-intelligence capacity, casting his argument as an attempt to heighten anxiety rather than advance cooperation. The rebuke, delivered Monday by the Foreign Ministry, places AI among the issues shadowing a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington later this month.

The dispute emerged as AI has become a prominent feature of China’s technology diplomacy and industrial ambitions. On June 22, visitors at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing walked past an installation pairing imagery associated with artificial intelligence and a human hand. The display offered a visible reminder that AI is increasingly presented not only as a commercial tool, but also as a strategic priority.

Amodei set out his position in an essay released Saturday. He argued that an AI advantage for China could create serious risks for both the United States and the wider world. His proposal combined a plea for a broader international deceleration in AI work with a specific request that the United States preserve its curbs on China’s access to leading-edge chips and the machinery used to make them.

Beijing’s response underscored the competing ways the two countries describe the same technological contest. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said alarmist language, confrontation and destructive rivalry would obstruct international arrangements for managing AI. China’s stated position was that countries should cooperate on the technology, rather than treat its development primarily as a contest between rival powers.

The exchange comes as officials on both sides are confronting not only commercial competition but questions about who will shape rules for increasingly capable systems. Trump and Xi are expected to discuss AI governance, among other subjects, when they meet on September 24. The upcoming talks could offer an early indication of whether both governments see room for shared safeguards despite their disagreement over access to advanced technology.

Amodei’s case rests in part on the importance of computing hardware. Advanced AI systems depend on high-performance chips, while sophisticated manufacturing equipment is necessary to produce those components. Keeping the most capable versions of both out of China, he argued, would help the United States retain a technological advantage. The focus on hardware places export restrictions at the center of a wider argument over how governments can influence AI development.

Chinese officials have also warned about AI-related dangers, though they have emphasized risks from outside actors with advanced capabilities. A senior Chinese security official wrote Sunday that unnamed countries were using AI advantages to restrain innovation elsewhere, an apparent reference to the United States. Xi has separately promoted a global AI-governance framework focused on the Global South and portrayed China as a supporter of an open-source AI community.

The policy dispute is unfolding against a rapidly changing market. Chinese companies have produced powerful models that generally cost less to use than top systems from U.S. firms and, by some measurements, perform at similar levels. That progress complicates the debate over export restrictions: chip controls may affect access to particular technologies, but they sit alongside continuing efforts by Chinese developers to build competitive models.

Amodei also warned in his essay about a faster-moving risk from AI agents. He said coordinated systems of that kind might be able to seize control of the internet within six to 12 months unless researchers agree to slow development. At the same time, he argued that any effort to set a global pace for AI would require engagement with China, which he described as the most advanced authoritarian AI power.

For now, neither side’s public position resolves the central tension. Washington faces calls to protect its technological lead without derailing cooperation on safety, while Beijing is resisting measures it views as containment of its innovation. The Trump-Xi meeting will be closely watched for signs that AI governance can be discussed separately from the dispute over chips, equipment and national advantage.

Source: NPR World