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U.S. accuses China of malicious AI model distillation

By Drooid · Sep 15, 2026, 2:10 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. agencies accused China’s AI developers of maliciously distilling advanced American models on Sept. 8.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China can never get ahead of U.S. models.
China rejected the accusation, called distillation normal, and urged United States to drop claims.
Beijing’s cyberspace regulator added a loss-of-control scenario to its AI safety framework in September 2024.
China is drafting a mandatory national AI-agent safety standard described as the world’s first.

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Story summary

U.S. agencies accused China’s AI developers of maliciously distilling advanced American models on Sept. 8.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China can never get ahead of U.S. models.
China rejected the accusation, called distillation normal, and urged United States to drop claims.
Beijing’s cyberspace regulator added a loss-of-control scenario to its AI safety framework in September 2024.
China is drafting a mandatory national AI-agent safety standard described as the world’s first.