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China Says AI Should Not Be Great Powers’ Monopoly
China’s main official newspaper said artificial intelligence should not belong only to powerful countries.
It said the United States and China should work together to reduce AI risks.
The newspaper argued that AI should be developed openly and inclusively.
China said it supports open-source AI models and gives access to some companies, including U.S. companies.
The newspaper criticized U.S. concerns about a process called distillation.
Distillation uses the results from a large AI model to help train a smaller one.
China said U.S. companies also use this process and accused Washington of applying different standards.
The United States has accused Chinese entities of seeking American AI technology and has restricted exports of advanced AI chips to China.
The two countries are expected to discuss AI safety, competition and possible safeguards at a planned Trump-Xi meeting.
People’s Daily called for U.S.-China cooperation to manage AI risks.
The commentary said AI should develop openly rather than become a zero-sum competition.
China said it supports open-source models and provides access to companies, including U.S. firms.
The newspaper accused the United States of applying double standards to AI model distillation.
AI policy, safety and technology competition are expected to feature in an upcoming Trump-Xi meeting.
- Who
- People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, and the governments of China and the United States are the main parties involved; Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to discuss the issue.
- What
- People’s Daily called for cooperation on AI risks and argued that artificial intelligence should not become a monopoly of great powers.
- Where
- The dispute concerns AI development, technology policy and national security relations between China and the United States.
- When
- The commentary was published on September 16, ahead of a planned U.S.-China meeting the following week.
- Why
- China said AI should be developed openly, inclusively and for broad benefit rather than treated as a zero-sum competition.
China’s Position
U.S. Concerns and Policy Position
Access to AI development
China’s Position
People’s Daily said AI is a field for all humanity and should be open, inclusive and not controlled by a small number of major powers.
U.S. Concerns and Policy Position
The United States has accused Chinese entities of seeking access to American AI technology and has restricted exports of advanced AI chips to China.
Model distillation
China’s Position
China said U.S. companies extensively use distillation and accused Washington of applying double standards by treating Chinese use as an attack.
U.S. Concerns and Policy Position
The commentary said the United States treats Chinese companies’ use of distillation as a national-security issue, while the U.S. position presented in the articles links the broader technology dispute to security concerns.
AI safeguards and development pace
China’s Position
China called for discussions on open, inclusive and broadly beneficial AI development and rejected efforts that could slow or restrict progress.
U.S. Concerns and Policy Position
Donald Trump has rejected calls for an AI slowdown and emphasized strong leadership and continued U.S. leadership, while U.S. technology executives have separately called for greater coordination and possible limits on frontier AI development.
Key facts
- Publication
- People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s official newspaper
- Commentary pen name
- “Zhong Sheng,” meaning “Voice of China”
- Countries involved
- China and the United States
- Main proposal
- U.S.-China cooperation to manage AI risks
- China’s stated approach
- Open-source AI models and open development practices
- Disputed practice
- AI model distillation, which uses outputs from larger models to train smaller ones
- Upcoming discussions
- A planned Trump-Xi meeting is expected to address AI safety, technology competition and safeguards
Quotes
People's Daily commentary under the pen name Zhong Sheng
A commentary published by the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper.
“According to U.S. logic, when American enterprises use distillation it is an 'industry standard practice,' while when Chinese enterprises apply it, it constitutes an 'attack.' This is naked double standards.”
livemint.com
“Artificial intelligence is a new domain for human development, not a monopoly of great powers, and must not become an arena for zero-sum competition.”
firstpost.com
livemint.com









