AI: China Rejects US Call to Slow Down and Denounces a 'Cold War'

China Responds to US AI Leaders

China rejects the call from several American artificial intelligence leaders to slow down the development of the most advanced models. Beijing sees this primarily as an attempt to preserve American technological dominance. However, behind this aggressive rhetoric, Chinese authorities are strengthening their own measures in response to the risk of uncontrollable AI.

The debate was reignited over the weekend by Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, who called for a slowdown in the progression of frontier models to allow more time for safety measures. Sam Altman and Elon Musk subsequently supported the principle. Amodei also advocated for maintaining strict restrictions on China's access to advanced chips and technologies that enable the replication of Western models.

China Denounces a 'Cold War Manual'

China's reaction was swift. In an editorial published this Monday, the Global Times, a media outlet supported by Beijing, accuses the head of Anthropic of adopting a true 'cold war manual' aimed at hindering Chinese development and preserving American monopoly over cutting-edge technologies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the development of artificial intelligence concerns the common well-being of all humanity. He called on all parties to jointly promote the open, inclusive and universally beneficial development of AI for good,... pic.twitter.com/Qx4xX6oLRp

--- Global Times (@globaltimesnews) September 14, 2026

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs took a more measured stance. Its spokesperson Guo Jiakun called for international governance based on cooperation rather than confrontation and geopolitical calculations. Beijing notably advocates for a more open and accessible AI, with a significant role given to open-source models.

The controversy has already had consequences on the markets. AI-related stocks fell sharply on Monday: SoftBank lost up to 13.2% during the session, while Asian and European semiconductor manufacturers were also penalized. Futures contracts on the Nasdaq 100 fell by more than 1% before the US opening.

Beijing Also Fears Uncontrollable AI

Beijing's criticism of the alarmist tone of the Americans comes at a time when China itself is preparing for the worst. The Minister of State Security, Chen Yixin, warned over the weekend that artificial intelligence could become a threat to political, social, and national security, particularly through deepfakes, cyberattacks, sensitive data leaks, or information manipulation operations.

However, this concern goes beyond mere risks of misinformation or espionage. According to Reuters, China is also explicitly working on scenarios in which advanced AI systems could escape human control.

The security frameworks published by the Cyberspace Administration of China in 2024 and 2025 mention several behaviors deemed concerning: self-replication, autonomous resource acquisition, and power-seeking strategies.

Last May, Beijing also released a specific framework for autonomous agents. This includes permanent risk detection mechanisms, provisions allowing a human to interrupt certain actions, external evaluations, and even the recall of products deemed problematic in sensitive sectors.

Xi Jinping himself emphasized this principle in July during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. The Chinese president called for AI to remain under human control at all times while simultaneously defending open source and the rapid advancement of technological development.

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