THE United States has launched a worldwide diplomatic effort to highlight what it alleges are systematic attempts by Chinese technology firms to extract and replicate American artificial intelligence models, signalling a renewed escalation in the intensifying tech rivalry between the two powers.
A State Department cable dated April 24 instructs US embassies and consulates to engage foreign governments on concerns surrounding the “extraction and distillation of US AI models” by Chinese companies, including start-up DeepSeek, as well as Moonshot AI and MiniMax.
Reuters reported on Saturday that the document states its aim is to “warn of the risks of utilising AI models distilled from US proprietary AI models, and lay the groundwork for potential follow-up and outreach by the US government”.
Distillation refers to the process of training smaller AI systems using outputs generated by more advanced and costly models, enabling the development of competitive tools at significantly reduced expense.
The move comes as DeepSeek unveiled a preview of a new model adapted for Huawei chip technology on April 24, underscoring China’s growing capacity to build a more self-reliant AI ecosystem despite ongoing US restrictions.
While US officials have framed the issue as a matter of intellectual property and security, Beijing has rejected such claims.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington dismissed earlier accusations from the White House as “baseless allegations,” adding that China “attaches great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights”.
The cable further notes that “AI models developed from surreptitious, unauthorised distillation campaigns enable foreign actors to release products that appear to perform comparably on select benchmarks at a fraction of the cost but do not replicate the full performance of the original system”.
It also warns that such processes may weaken safeguards, stating these efforts “deliberately strip security protocols from the resulting models and undo mechanisms that ensure those AI models are ideologically neutral and truth-seeking”.
A separate diplomatic démarche has been sent to Beijing, according to the document, as Washington seeks to formalise its concerns directly with Chinese authorities.
The issue has gained urgency following warnings from US firm OpenAI to lawmakers that Chinese entities, including DeepSeek, were attempting to replicate leading American AI systems for their own training purposes.
The latest developments come just weeks before President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, a visit that could test a fragile détente reached last year following prolonged trade and technology disputes.
The renewed focus on artificial intelligence underscores the strategic importance of the sector, with both nations vying for dominance in a field seen as critical to economic competitiveness and national security. - April 25, 2026
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