China Warns US of Potential Sanctions Over Alleged Intellectual Property Theft in Artificial Intelligence Models
China has warned the United States that it will take all necessary measures if Washington moves to sanction Chinese artificial intelligence companies for allegedly using American models to train their own systems. The Ministry of Commerce criticized the administration's accusations of intellectual property theft through a process called distillation, describing the move as a "smmer campaign" and a display of AI hegemony. While US officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have suggested that sanctions are on the table for firms that cross the line into IP theft, Chinese officials defended distillation as a standard industry technique. They noted that many American AI companies have also distilled Chinese models without providing specific evidence. The dispute highlights a growing tension in the AI race. While tech giants like Nvidia and Microsoft have urged policymakers to avoid premature restrictions on open-weight models, companies like Anthropic and OpenAI have moved to ban unauthorized distillation in their terms of service to protect their proprietary technology and national security.