China Accuses US Companies of Distilling Their AI Models

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce, during a press briefing, stated that if the US imposes new sanctions on Chinese AI developers, Beijing will take all necessary measures. This follows accusations by White House adviser Michael Kratsios and Defense Secretary Scott Bessent that Chinese developers are distilling, or copying, American AI models. Chinese officials counter that US labs release their models only days before Chinese labs publish open-source code, making such rapid distillation impossible. They assert that some Chinese models are already leading and that US companies have distilled Chinese models for their own purposes. The White House does not see illegal activity in using distillation to create smaller, efficient models. China urges the US to avoid extremes and jointly promote positive AI development and governance. Last week, 77 US tech companies signed an open letter urging the US not to impose premature restrictions on open models.