China will ban the sale of drones in Beijing and require users to apply for permission for all flights in the capital under strict regulations that enter force on Friday.

Officials have cited public security for the new rules, which also forbid bringing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or their core components into Beijing.

E-commerce platforms will be banned from shipping UAVs to Beijing, though drone owners who have completed real-name registration of their gadgets before May 1 will be allowed to take them in and out of the capital.

Drone users in the city of 22 million will have three months after the new rules kick in to register their devices with local police stations.

Several sellers across the city had already removed drones from displays ahead of the rules change, AFP saw Tuesday. An employee at a DJI outlet in central Beijing said the gadgets were being boxed up for transport to other cities.

DJI, which is the world’s largest drone maker and has been sanctioned by the US government over security concerns, is dominant in the Chinese market but now faces being locked out of its home capital by the new rules.

The city’s airspace will be closed to all drone flights without prior approval from authorities, with fines of up to 10,000 yuan ($1,463) for illegal flights and possible confiscation of the drone.

Organisations or individuals caught selling drones or 17 core components will also face fines under the new rules.

‘One-size-fits-all’

Drone storage rules will also be tightened in the capital, with individuals allowed to keep at most three drones at a single location within Beijing’s sixth ring road.

Online, many users complained that the new rules were onerous and left them with few opportunities to fly their gadgets in Beijing.

“This is a crazy one-size-fits-all system,” one user wrote on the social media platform WeChat.

Others said they would sell their drones ahead of the new rules.

At one drone-flying school in central Beijing, staff told AFP they were worried about how they would acquire new drones or components when their stock breaks or needs maintenance.

But they hoped that educational and sports facilities like theirs would eventually receive some exemption from the rules.

The new regulations hold that exemptions may be provided for special purposes like counter-terrorism, agriculture, education and sport.

“As the capital, Beijing faces more challenges in low-altitude airspace safety, making it more urgent to strengthen the management of UAVs,” Beijing municipal official Xiong Jinghua said when the rules were announced in March.

National laws have also been tightened this year in China, with illegal drone flights now punishable by up to 15 days detention and UAVs required to provide real-time data to authorities during flights.

The United States led a group of regional countries in calling China’s actions during a dispute over the Panama Canal a “threat,” prompting backlash from Beijing on Wednesday.

Washington and Beijing accuse each other of seeking to control the Panama Canal, a vital trade link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Panama took control of two of the canal’s ports previously operated by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate following a decision by the Panamanian Supreme Court in January.

Since then, Washington has alleged China detained two Panama-flagged ships in response to the takeover, while China has threatened Panama with payback and rejected the US claims.

The United States led countries including Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday in calling China’s actions “a blatant attempt to politicize maritime trade and infringe on the sovereignty of the nations of our hemisphere”.

“Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system, and as such must remain free from any undue external pressure,” the US State Department said in the joint statement.

“Any attempts to undermine Panama’s sovereignty are a threat to us all.”

China’s foreign ministry slammed the statement as a “smear” on Wednesday.

“It is the United States that is politicizing and over-securitizing the port issue,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.

“It is the United States that is hypocritically posturing and spreading rumors and smears everywhere.”

Trump returned to office last year vowing to seize back US control of the Panama Canal, which was handed over in a deal reached by former president Jimmy Carter, who vowed that the US would respect its sovereignty.

After Panama’s moves against the Hong Kong-based company, Trump declared victory and the canal issue largely disappeared as a point of contention between the countries.

In a national security strategy last year, the Trump administration vowed aggressively to promote US interests in Latin America against outside powers led by China.

Meta is preparing to backtrack its acquisition of AI startup Manus, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday, after China banned the transaction citing national security concerns.

Facebook owner Meta announced in December it had agreed to acquire Manus, an artificial intelligence agent created by a company founded in China but now based in Singapore.

But China’s top body for economic planning, the National Development and Reform Commission, said in a statement on Monday that it will “prohibit the foreign investment in the acquisition of the Manus project” and “requires the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition.

The statement did not specifically name Meta.

Meta had told AFP in a statement on Monday that “the transaction complied fully with applicable law.”

“We anticipate an appropriate resolution to the inquiry,” it added.

Analysts had warned the deal could fall foul of regulators at a time of fierce technological  rivalry between Washington and  Beijing.

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the U-turn was complicated by the fact that Manus’s investors have already received returns from the deal.

Meta said in December that the deal — the financial details of which were not disclosed — would “bring a leading agent to billions of people and unlock opportunities for businesses across our products.”

Manus, created by startup Butterfly Effect, says on its website that it can do everything from analyzing the stock market to creating a personalized travel handbook for a trip with simple user instructions.

By Suy Se

Waving their national flags, dozens of Chinese nationals protested outside Cambodia’s central bank on Monday, demanding the unfreezing of accounts they opened with a financial services firm linked to cyberscamming.

Some demonstrators wielded umbrellas and clashed with scores of local security personnel armed with batons, leaving at least two protesters bloodied.

The former chairman of Huione Group, Li Xiong, was extradited to China on April 1, with Chinese authorities saying he was central to a major transnational gambling and fraud syndicate, and suspected of multiple crimes.

Protesters said their accounts with its digital payments platform H-Pay, previously Huione Pay, had been frozen since December.

Construction and renovation company owner Wang Xijun said he had about US$50,000 locked in his account and has been unable to pay his staff for around three months.

“We are Chinese citizens. We support the crackdown on illegal online gambling and illicit earnings,” Wang shouted.

“But do not lay your hands on us ordinary civilians,” he added. “Give the people’s money back!”

The US government last year accused Huione, which owned several companies offering e-commerce, payment and cryptocurrency exchange services, of laundering funds for transnational criminal groups perpetrating scams from Southeast Asia.

But the protesters in Phnom Penh say they have nothing to do with these alleged crimes and now cannot access their assets deposited with Huione, calling on the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) to intervene.

Monday’s demonstration followed protests earlier this month outside the NBC and the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh.

Li Shangfu, 54, said many Chinese people in Cambodia had used Huione because it was “trusted” and convenient for “all our transactions”.

He works in the restaurant and hotel industry and said he has tens of thousands of dollars tied up in Huione’s platform.

“I want the government to give us an answer. What exactly is the situation regarding our money?” said Li. “Does this money still exist or not?”

‘My blood and sweat’

The NBC has said the Huione platforms’ business licences have been revoked, and Huione Pay creditors should go to the courts, while H-Pay creditors can make claims with a liquidator.

The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designated Huione Group a “primary money-laundering concern” last year, and prohibited US financial institutions from processing transactions with it.

Beijing has called Huione’s Li “a core member” of the criminal gang of Chen Zhi, another Chinese-born accused scam boss who was operating from Cambodia before being extradited to China this year.

The Southeast Asian nation has emerged as a hub for the illicit industry in recent years, with transnational crime groups initially mostly targeting Chinese speakers before widening their reach and stealing tens of billions of dollars annually from victims around the world.

Cambodian authorities say they are cracking down, detaining and deporting more than 13,000 foreign nationals involved in online scams since early last year.

From January to April, more than 240,000 people, including Chinese, Indonesians, Indians and others, accused of scam involvement “voluntarily departed” Cambodia, the government said last week.

Monitors accused senior Cambodian officials of complicity — allegations the government has denied.

Protesting Cambodian food vendor Sopheak, 42, said she could see her US$36,000 balance on the Huione platform but cannot withdraw any money.

She opened her account three years ago because Chinese customers preferred it, she said.

“The money is my blood and sweat.”

China has blocked Meta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus, the top economic planning body said Monday, after a regulatory review that reportedly also saw Beijing restrict two co-founders from leaving the country.

Facebook owner Meta had agreed to acquire Manus, an artificial intelligence agent created by a company founded in China but now based in Singapore, the two firms said in December.

Analysts however had warned then the deal could fall foul of regulators at a time of fierce technological rivalry between Washington and Beijing.

The Financial Times reported last month that China had restricted two Manus co-founders from leaving the country, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

Chief executive Xiao Hong and chief scientist Ji Yichao, who are usually based in Singapore, were reportedly summoned to a meeting in Beijing in March and told they were not allowed to leave China because of a regulatory review of the Meta acquisition.

Beijing’s National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on Monday that it will “prohibit the foreign investment in the acquisition of the Manus project” and “requires the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction”, without naming Meta.

It added that this was done “in accordance with laws and regulations”.

AFP has contacted Manus and Meta for comment.

Meta said in December that the deal — the financial details of which were not disclosed — would “bring a leading agent to billions of people and unlock opportunities for businesses across our products”.

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said the purchase was likely aimed at expanding Meta’s AI agent task capabilities, and that it could be worth more than US$2 billion.

Manus, created by startup Butterfly Effect, can sift through and summarise resumes or create a stock analysis website, according to its website.

Beijing slammed on Monday an EU plan aimed to bolster the bloc’s industries against fierce competition from China, vowing countermeasures if it is enacted.

The EU unveiled in March new “Made in Europe” rules for companies trying to access public funds in strategic sectors including cars, green tech and steel, obliging firms to meet minimum thresholds for EU-made parts.

The proposal, held up for months by wrangling over the measures, is a key part of a European Union drive to regain its competitive edge, reduce its industrial decline and stave off hundreds of thousands of job losses.

Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Monday that it had submitted comments to the European Commission on Friday, expressing China’s “serious concerns” regarding the act it called “systemic discrimination”.

“If the EU… presses ahead with the legislation, and thereby harms the interests of Chinese companies, China will have no choice but to take countermeasures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises,” the commerce ministry warned in a statement.

See also: EU offers China alternative to tariffs in electric vehicles dispute

European businesses in many of the sectors concerned by the proposal have long lamented they face unfair competition from heavily subsidised Chinese rivals.

The EU proposal, formally known as the “Industrial Accelerator Act”, implicitly targets Chinese makers of batteries and electric vehicles by requiring foreign firms to partner with European firms and pass on technological know-how when setting up shop in the bloc.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU said this month the plan marked a shift towards protectionism that would affect trade cooperation between the EU and China.

By Tenzin Woeden

Tibetans outside Chinese control vote on Sunday for a government-in-exile, an election of heightened significance as they brace for an inevitable, eventual, future without their revered spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The India-based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) — condemned by China as “nothing but a separatist political group” — is a key institution for the exiles, especially after the Dalai Lama handed over political power in 2011.

“Our votes matter,” said Tenzin Tsering, 19, a first-time voter waiting to cast his ballot to push for greater youth representation.

“We need voices that reflect where our community is going, not just where it has been”, he said, speaking in Bylakuppe in India’s southern state of Karnataka, one of the largest Tibetan communities outside the Himalayan plateau.

Polling is due to take place in 27 countries — but not China.

The 91,000 registered voters include Buddhist monks in the high Himalayas, political exiles in South Asia’s megacities and refugees in Australia, Europe and North America.

The 90-year-old Dalai Lama, based in India since fleeing the Tibetan capital Lhasa after Chinese troops crushed an uprising in 1959, insists he has many more years to live.

But supporters of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate are acutely aware that self-declared atheist and Communist China said last year that it must approve the Buddhist leader’s eventual successor.

The Dalai Lama says only his India-based office has that right.

Tibetan Buddhists believe he is the 14th reincarnation of a spiritual leader first born in 1391.

‘Potential of young Tibetans’

The five-year parliament, which sits twice a year, has 45 members from across the world: 30 representing three traditional provinces, 10 representing five religious traditions and five representing the diaspora.

Headquartered in Dharamsala in northern India, it functions as a representative body for an estimated 150,000 Tibetans living in exile worldwide.

Lines of red robed monks and nuns lined up to vote in the Indian hill town on Sunday.

The government’s “sikyong”, or leader, Penpa Tsering, was elected for a second term on February 1, after taking 61 percent in the preliminary round — a high enough threshold to win outright.

Tsering, like the government, does not seek full independence for Tibet, in line with the Dalai Lama’s long-standing “Middle Way” policy seeking autonomy.

Exiled voters represent only a fraction of ethnic Tibetans — whom the CTA estimates at six million worldwide, compared with more than seven million China counted in its 2020 census.

Beijing, which in 1950 sent troops to the vast high-altitude plateau it calls an integral part of China, has condemned the elections as a “farce”.

Its foreign ministry calls the exiled government an “illegal organisation that completely violates the Chinese constitution and laws”.

Among younger voters, some were worried at the perceived underrepresentation of Tibet’s next generation in the corridors of the exile government.

“I want to see fresh faces, leaders who represent the potential of young Tibetans,” said 25-year-old Tenzin Pema, expressing her weariness at the sometimes divisive arguments between older political leaders.

More than half of voters, about 56,000, live in India, Nepal and Bhutan.

The remaining 34,000 are scattered around the world, including roughly 12,000 in North America — including New York and Toronto — and 8,000 in Europe, including Paris, Geneva, Zurich and London.

Results are expected on May 13.

In the desert expanse of Turkmenistan, Chinese engineers are hard at work at the vast Galkynysh gas field — a mega project that is deepening the closed Central Asian state’s already extensive ties with Beijing.

Energy-rich Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most reclusive and sealed-off states, has stated its desire to diversify its exports towards Europe and the Indian subcontinent.

But it is China that is pouring in the cash to get its hands on Turkmenistan’s vast gas reserves, estimated to be the fourth largest in the world.

At the inauguration of a new phase of the Galkynysh plant in mid-April, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov — former president and now father of the nation — hailed the country’s important ties with Beijing.

“Our country regards China as a strategic partner,” he said at the event, to which AFP journalists were granted rare access.

Berdymukhamedov touched down at the ceremony in a white helicopter, where a traditional carpet was laid out across the tarmac.

Standing alongside China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, dancers in the countries’ respective national colours performed a routine symbolising the handover of gas from one to another.

Hundreds of green Turkmen flags fluttered in the desert wind, held up by women in red, purple, blue and green outfits.

Led by the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the expansion will increase production and storage at Galkynysh, enabling more exports to China.

The site is the second-largest gas field in the world, according to British energy consultancy Gaffney, Cline and Associates, behind only South Pars, shared by Iran and Qatar.

Around 90 percent of Turkmenistan’s gas exports already go to China — according to several independent estimates.

Ashgabat does not publish statistics.

“The paradox of Turkmenistan is that as its proven gas reserves have grown, the country has gained the status of a gas giant, but not a comparable degree of freedom in monetising those reserves,” said Abzal Narymbetov, an expert in Central Asia’s energy sector.

“The country has a huge resource base, but its export infrastructure is still heavily tied to the Chinese route,” he added.

‘Strategic vulnerability’

A former Soviet republic, Turkmenistan used to export gas exclusively to Russia until 2009, when a diplomatic spat with Moscow accelerated a pivot towards Beijing.

The Central Asia-China gas pipeline, opened that year, has since delivered “around 460 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas,” Berdymukhamedov said.

He wants to increase annual deliveries to 65 bcm.

China, the world’s largest importer of natural gas, is a major buyer from Russia and the Middle East, but seeks to diversify its energy sources.

“For Turkmenistan, China is irreplaceable, whereas for China, Turkmenistan is just one of several suppliers. That is why dependence on a single market is not just a trade issue but one of strategic vulnerability,” Narymbetov said.

Turkmen authorities are also hoping the expanded field at Galkynysh could help it look further afield.

“In addition to the Chinese route, Galkynysh is also being considered as a resource base for the future TAPI (Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India) gas pipeline,” an employee of state-owned Turkmengaz told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It is aiming to supply 33 bcm along that route as well as boosting exports to Europe via the Caspian Sea on the country’s west.

‘Reinforce’

For now, Beijing is the only viable route.

“Each new phase of Galkynysh so far tends to reinforce the Chinese vector rather than genuinely diversify it,” Narymbetov said.

The already-delayed TAPI route faces security challenges in Afghanistan, where it is still under construction.

And the proposed Trans-Caspian pipeline to take Turkmen gas across the Caspian Sea and into Europe is stalling.

See also: Xi Jinping calls on China, Central Asia to ‘fully unleash’ potential in trade, cooperation

There is no clear agreement on who will finance that project, or long-term gas deals that would make it financially viable.

Asked by AFP, the EU delegation in Turkmenistan said: “We leave a decision on a potential Trans-Caspian Pipeline to Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and/or other parties interested in investing in it financially.”

At home, the partnership with Beijing is, for now, an economic lifeline, with authorities presenting Galkynysh as a source of prosperity for the entire country.

Aga, a 22-year-old student at the oil-and-gas university in the capital Ashgabat, told AFP investment at the field was creating many jobs.

“After I graduate, I would like to work there,” he said.

Two giant pandas from China are headed to Atlanta on a new 10-year conservation deal.

Pandas Ping Ping, a male, and Fu Shuang, a female, will live at Zoo Atlanta, China Wildlife Conservation Association said in a statement Friday.

The organization signed the research agreement with the United States zoo last year, it said, noting the deal continues “the ‘panda bond’ shared by the people of both nations for more than 20 years”.

The panda pair come from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in southwestern Sichuan province, according to the statement.

“Zoo Atlanta is delighted and honored to yet again be trusted as stewards of this treasured species,” the zoo’s president Raymond B. King said in a statement.

“We can’t wait to meet Ping Ping and Fu Shuang.”

The zoo welcomed its first giant pandas Yang Yang and Lun Lun when they arrived in 1999.

That pair produced seven cubs over a 25-year agreement before returning to China with their two youngest in 2024, when that deal expired.

The US side has prepared for Ping Ping and Fu Shuang’s arrival by renovating their habitat to make it “more comfortable and more safe”, the Chinese association said.

The panda news comes as US President Donald Trump is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing next month.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday the new deal “will contribute to the well-being of giant pandas… and the friendship between the people of China and the US”.

By Laurence Benhamou

Chinese carmakers have quickly built up their presence in the lucrative European auto market, buoyed by technological advances their competitors are trying to copy, and analysts say their next step is to begin producing locally.

Largely unknown in the continent three years ago, brands including BYD, Chery, Geely and XPeng achieved a nine percent share of European sales in March — and 14 percent of electric cars — according to Dataforce.

That has doubled in a year, and some models even rank among the top sellers in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Their success is shaking up European manufacturers, weakened by a domestic market that has shrunk by a quarter since 2019 and wrong-footed by European Union plans to make 90 percent of all cars sold electric by 2035.

The policy has come at just the right time for Chinese manufacturers, who are far ahead in the electric segment at home, thanks to strong state support.

“Europe, one of the only major global markets, is a natural outlet for Chinese carmakers,” said Jamel Taganza, head of the consulting firm Inovev.

“The EU’s plan for electric cars was practically made for them; it opened up the European market to them in a very short time.”

Exports are an even greater necessity for Chinese firms than their European rivals because they face significant overcapacity.

Their plants are running at only 50 percent of their potential, compared with around 60 percent for European companies, Alexandre Marian, an analyst at AlixPartners, pointed out.

“The Chinese manufacturers’ strengths are not just labour costs; it’s innovation,” added Michael Foundoukidis, an automotive analyst at Oddo.

“In China today, they’re offering vehicles that are twice as efficient for half the price” of European models.

The next step is to produce locally.

“All manufacturers believe that if you want to gain a foothold in a market, it’s easier to produce locally to avoid customs duties and transport issues,” said Lionel French Keogh, sales director of Chery France, which aims to build a small electric city car in Europe.

“If they want to sustainably exceed a 10 percent market share in Europe, they will have no choice but to assemble in Europe,” confirmed Foundoukidis.

Europe fights back

EU customs barriers on imported electric cars — imposed in 2024 — are encouraging this shift.

BYD is building a plant in Hungary, while Leapmotor — a Stellantis partner — plans to produce two models in a Stellantis factory in Zaragoza, Spain.

Reports also say Stellantis is considering making Leapmotor models in Spain under the Opel brand.

And XPeng is assembling knock-down kits in Austria.

To fight back, European manufacturers have adopted the same strategy the Chinese used in the 2000s: learning from competitors via joint ventures.

Examples include Stellantis with Leapmotor and Volkswagen with Xpeng, which is launching a first jointly developed electric model for the Chinese market.

Meanwhile, Renault has teamed up with Geely for internal combustion and hybrid engines.

This is a “reverse joint venture”, said AlixPartners analyst Marian.

Chery’s French Keogh added that European manufacturers “are seeking these alliances to learn Chinese know-how in electric vehicles”.

“It’s a complete reversal of the situation: for a long time, Europeans were condescending toward Chinese manufacturers, seen as mere imitators.”

Renault has decided to imitate the Chinese by developing its new models in two years, and has entrusted the development of its electric Twingo to its research and development centre in China.

The game is not lost for the Europeans, in Foundoukidis’s view, “as long as traditional manufacturers step up their competitiveness efforts to catch up with their Chinese rivals over the next two or three years”.

But they may be forced to cut capacity in Europe, or even close plants.

This is the case in Poissy, in the Paris region, where Stellantis has decided to halt car production, while Volkswagen has decided to make major staff cuts and reduce its global capacity by a million units.

“We must not underestimate the ability of European manufacturers to react,” adds Taganza.

Renault’s Twingo will be a test, as will the strategic plan Stellantis is due to announce on May 21.

In the meantime, BYD has applied to join the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

“No decision yet,” a spokeswoman for the ACEA said, as it requires “an established industrial presence in Europe”.

Chinese startup DeepSeek released a new artificial intelligence model Friday, more than a year after it stunned the world with a low-cost reasoning model that matched the capabilities of US rivals.

DeepSeek-V4 “features an ultra-long context of one million words”, the company said in a statement on social media platform WeChat, hailing it as “cost-effective” in a separate announcement on X.

The announcement came as Meta said it planned to cut a tenth of its staff as it looks for productivity gains from the rest of the workforce while investing heavily in artificial intelligence. Reports said Microsoft was also looking to trim its ranks.

DeepSeek-V4’s context length, which determines how much input a model is able to absorb to help it complete tasks, “(achieves) leadership in both domestic and open-source fields across agent capabilities, world knowledge, and reasoning performance”.

A “preview version” of the open source model is now available, the company said.

DeepSeek-V4 is released as two versions, DeepSeek-V4-Pro and DeepSeek-V4-Flash, with the latter being “a more efficient and economical choice” because it has smaller parameters.

V4-Pro has 1.6 trillion parameters while the V4-Flash has 284 billion parameters, which refine models’ decision-making ability.

The model has also been “optimised” for popular AI Agent products such as Claude Code, OpenClaw, OpenCode and CodeBuddy, the statement said.

“In world knowledge benchmarks, DeepSeek-V4-Pro significantly leads other open-source models and is only slightly outperformed by the top-tier closed-source model, (Google’s) Gemini-Pro-3.1,” the statement added.

Hangzhou-based DeepSeek burst onto the scene in January last year with a generative AI chatbot, powered by its R1 reasoning model, that upended assumptions of US dominance in the strategic sector.

This so-called “DeepSeek shock” sparked a sell-off of AI-related shares and a reckoning on business strategy in what was also described as a “Sputnik moment” for the industry.

The chatbot performed at a similar level to ChatGPT and other top American offerings, but the company said it had taken significantly less computing power to develop.

However, its sudden popularity raised questions over data privacy and censorship, with the chatbot often refusing to answer questions on sensitive topics such as the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

At home, DeepSeek’s AI tools have been widely adopted by Chinese municipalities and healthcare institutions as well as the financial sector and other businesses.

This has been partly driven by DeepSeek’s decision to make its systems open source, with their inner workings public — in contrast to the proprietary models sold by OpenAI and other Western rivals.

“China-made large AI models spearheaded the development of the global open-source AI ecosystem,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang told an annual gathering of China’s top decision-makers last month.

The AI race has intensified the rivalry between China and the United States, and the White House on Thursday accused Chinese entities of a massive effort to steal artificial intelligence technology.

“The US has evidence that foreign entities, primarily in China, are running industrial-scale distillation campaigns to steal American AI,” science and technology chief Michael Kratsios said in a post on X.

“We will be taking action to protect American innovation.”

The White House on Thursday accused Chinese entities of a massive effort to steal US artificial intelligence technology and vowed to take action to prevent the alleged theft.

“The US has evidence that foreign entities, primarily in China, are running industrial-scale distillation campaigns to steal American AI,” White House science and technology chief Michael Kratsios said in a post on X.

“We will be taking action to protect American innovation.”

Distillation is a common practice within AI development, often used by companies to create cheaper, smaller versions of their own models.

In February, US AI developer Anthropic accused three Chinese firms, DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and MiniMax, of running campaigns to illicitly extract capabilities from its Claude chatbot, describing it as intellectual property theft.

That same month, ChatGPT creator OpenAI sent a letter to US legislators accusing DeepSeek of using distillation techniques amid “ongoing efforts to free-ride on the capabilities developed by OpenAI and other US frontier labs.”

Kratsios did not name any specific foreign entities in his post but said they “are using tens of thousands of proxies and jailbreaking techniques in coordinated campaigns to systematically extract American breakthroughs.”

The accusations come ahead of a planned May 14 summit in Beijing between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.