The Chinese government responded firmly on Tuesday to a recent U.S. decision banning civilian federal agencies from using products and services from the artificial intelligence startup "DeepSeek," warning of retaliatory steps amid the fierce race between the two superpowers to develop AI technologies.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had issued directives stating that federal agencies must remove DeepSeek products, as well as any third-party products or services developed using the company's models, from their IT infrastructure, alongside banning the procurement or acquisition of any new solutions from the company.
National Security Concerns and Justifications for the Ban
The document published in the U.S. Federal Register relies on allegations that "DeepSeek's" open-source models—which are widely used and often available for free—constitute multiple threat vectors. U.S. concerns focus primarily on the fact that the company's servers are located within China, which could allow Chinese authorities to access U.S. corporate infrastructure and sensitive data.
In contrast, George Chan, partner and head of the digital technology practice at the Asia Group in Washington, considered that these warnings reflect "the depth of strategic distrust between Beijing and Washington," despite ongoing efforts between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to maintain a constructive bilateral relationship.
Official Chinese Response and Trade Escalation
In the Chinese capital, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning expressed her country's firm rejection of the overextension of the concept of national security, affirming that China "will resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises." The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also issued a statement expressing "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to the U.S. move, accusing Washington of ignoring the consensuses reached between the two presidents and undermining bilateral economic and trade relations under the guise of national security.
This tension comes at a time when both countries are preparing to discuss the AI file again during the anticipated meeting between Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, while Washington continues to impose strict restrictions preventing China from accessing the latest advanced AI chips.