Story perspectives

US Memo Flags China AI Data Theft, Export Curbs

4/25/2026

Summary

Story summary

The memo was released before U.S. President Donald Trump’s May 14 summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
OSTP Director Michael Kratsios said China is running distillation campaigns using proxy accounts, while China’s foreign ministry called the accusations slander.
Anthropic and OpenAI have accused Chinese project DeepSeek of illicitly extracting data from U.S. models.
Reuters reported the memo could lead the administration to curb chip exports to China before the summit.

History

Historical Context

In May 2019 Trump’s executive order placed Huawei and 70 foreign subsidiaries on the Commerce Department’s Entity List, halting U.S. chip sales. The 2018 NDAA already barred federal use of Huawei gear, and Biden’s 2021 and 2024 orders broadened AI-chip export limits. Today OSTP director Michael Kratsios warns that Chinese AI firm DeepSeek may repeat Huawei’s data-harvesting tactics, reviving fears of another export crackdown.

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Story summary

The memo was released before U.S. President Donald Trump’s May 14 summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
OSTP Director Michael Kratsios said China is running distillation campaigns using proxy accounts, while China’s foreign ministry called the accusations slander.
Anthropic and OpenAI have accused Chinese project DeepSeek of illicitly extracting data from U.S. models.
Reuters reported the memo could lead the administration to curb chip exports to China before the summit.

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