ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-09-14 · by E. EDUARDO CASTILLO Associated Press, CHAN HO-HIM Associated Press
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded critically to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s call for the U.S. to curb China’s artificial intelligence (AI) development, arguing that fearmongering and competition are harmful to global AI governance. The ministry stressed cooperation over confrontation, while dismissing Amodei’s essay as a veiled attempt to contain China. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, downplayed concerns about China's AI progress, asserting the U.S.’s current leadership in the field.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for slowing down AI development to ensure safety and alignment, a stance supported by OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk. However, these warnings have met significant pushback from China, with its State Security Minister Chen Yixin issuing a public warning about AI endangering national security. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed Amodei’s essay as an attempt to contain Chinese technological advancement, emphasizing the need for global cooperation rather than restrictions. The disagreement comes amid discussions between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, set to meet in September 2026, where AI governance will be a key topic. China's Global Times newspaper described Amodei’s stance as part of a "Cold War playbook," suggesting that competition could outweigh safety concerns in the global race for AI dominance.
Written for “AI Development Debate China Us” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 8779: attributed speech only · logged 2026-09-14
Beijing hits back at Anthropic CEO’s call to curb China's AI development
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Beijing → hit → development
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hit back at a call from the head of Anthropic for the U.S. to curb China’s artificial intelligence capabilities
BEIJING --
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Ministry → hit → capabilities
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday hit back at a call from the head of Anthropic for the U.S. to curb China's artificial intelligence capabilities, which he issued as he argued for a global slowdown on AI development.
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he → hit → development
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to discuss AI governance, among other topics, at a meeting planned on Sept. 24.
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Trump → expect → Sept.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in a lengthy essay published on Saturday warned that a “Chinese lead in AI would pose grave danger for the United States and the world.”
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lead → publish → States
He called for continuing restrictions on sales of cutting-edge AI chips and chipmaking equipment to China in order to keep the U.S.’s AI edge.
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He → call → edge
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to a question about Amodei's essay by saying that all parties should work together on AI.
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parties → respond → AI
“Fearmongering, confrontation and vicious competition will only disrupt the process of global AI governance which serves no one’s interest,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference on Monday.
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Jiakun → disrupt → Monday
On Sunday, President Donald Trump downplayed calls for his administration to step in to slow down AI development, saying that the U.S. was leading China on AI and that “whoever wins AI, wins.”
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wins → downplay → AI
Amodei also predicted that a swarm of AI “agents” could be able to take over the internet in six to 12 months unless researchers agree to slow down.
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researchers → predict → months
He said that “global pacing will require cooperation with China, the autocratic country with by far the most advanced AI capabilities.”
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pacing → say → capabilities
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to discuss topics including AI governance with Chinese leader Xi Jinping meeting planned for late September.
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Trump → expect → September
Chinese companies have developed powerful AI models that are often cheaper to use than advanced models from U.S.-based companies, even as by some measures, they are just as capable.
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they → develop → measures
China’s Xi has called for the setting up of a global AI governance framework among Global South, while pitching China as a pioneer in establishing an open-source AI community.
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Xi → call → community
The head of China’s Ministry of State Security has also called for “accelerating the establishment of a system for preventing and managing AI security risks” in a recent article.
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head → call → article
In an editorial published Sunday, China’s state-run Global Times newspaper dismissed Amodei’s essay as a veiled call to “contain” China.
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newspaper → publish → China
It said that Amodei’s essay may appear on the surface to be focused on global AI security, but, that it is “packed with containment provisions targeting China and is, in essence, a ‘Cold War playbook’ for the AI sector.”
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it → say → sector
Amodei’s essay was published a few days after the FBI, National Security Agency and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a joint cybersecurity advisory last week, saying Chinese AI developers had engaged in “aggressive, malicious” efforts in extracting, or “distilling,” capabilities from some of the most advanced AI models in the U.S. like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s GPT.
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developers → publish → Claude
China’s Commerce Ministry dismissed the U.S. claims as groundless and said “distillation” has been commonly used by many AI companies.
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distillation → dismiss → companies
It also said that the U.S. was pursuing a “monopoly of the AI industry.”
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U.S. → say → industry
Both China and the U.S. want “to make sure the other side cannot establish a tech chokepoint over them,” said Lizzi C. Lee, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.
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Lee → want → Analysis
“So from Beijing’s perspective, there is an obvious question: if the U.S. wants China to cooperate on frontier safety while also restricting its access to frontier compute, what exactly does that cooperation look like?” Lee said.
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Lee → be → what
Chan reported from Hong Kong.
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Chan → report → Kong
