By Zainab Bakare
China has criticised a United States government ban on the use of artificial intelligence tools developed by Chinese startup DeepSeek across civilian federal agencies, describing the move as an overreach of national security concerns.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday, that the decision politicised science, technology and trade issues and extended the concept of national security beyond its proper scope.
The US Department of Homeland Security announced the restriction on Monday, warning that DeepSeek’s AI models could expose sensitive government data to China when used by government employees or contractors.
The department said the tools posed multiple security risks and directed agencies to remove them from their information technology devices.
In response, Beijing said it would protect Chinese businesses against what it considers unjustified restrictions, as the two countries compete for leadership in artificial intelligence.
DeepSeek attracted global attention in January 2025 after launching a low-cost, high-performance chatbot that challenged assumptions about US dominance in the AI industry.
Washington has also accused DeepSeek and other Chinese AI firms of systematically acquiring capabilities from advanced American AI models, allegations that have further heightened tensions between the two countries.
Despite the rivalry, China and the United States agreed in September to establish a communication channel for addressing AI-related incidents.
Edited by Julian Osamoto
