China Pushes Back on Silicon Valley's AI Slowdown Proposal

Silicon Valley leaders who spent years warning of an AI arms race with China have shifted their message, arguing the technology is dangerous enough that both countries must cooperate to slow it down. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed "global pacing" with China in a blog post titled "We Must Pace the Frontier."

China's government and AI companies responded with skepticism - not because they dismiss AI risks, but because they see a bad deal. Amodei wrote that a key part of the strategy should be keeping the US lead over autocracies "as large as possible," urging crackdowns on chip smuggling and unauthorized model distillation by Chinese companies.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the proposal "fear-mongering, confrontation, and vicious competition." Analysts say Beijing is less focused on existential risks than on threats AI could pose to domestic stability and CCP rule.

Preliminary negotiations are reportedly underway ahead of Xi Jinping's planned visit to Washington to meet President Trump. Some observers worry Amodei's rhetoric could erode trust the talks depend on.

Source: Wired