Chinese Companies Remain Silent Amid U.S. AI Warnings
- Chinese firms Z.ai, Moonshot, MiniMax, Alibaba, and Tencent have not commented on recent U.S. AI warnings.
- Industry leaders in the U.S., including Sam Altman and Elon Musk, have called for a slowdown in AI development due to risks.
- China’s foreign ministry labeled U.S. comments as “fear-mongering,” reinforcing its focus on AI governance and commercialization.
BEIJING — Although leading U.S. laboratories have raised alarms regarding artificial intelligence (AI) in prominent speeches, companies in China have largely chosen to remain silent. Firms such as Z.ai, Moonshot, MiniMax, Alibaba, and Tencent did not respond to inquiries from CNBC related to warnings issued from Silicon Valley.
Ray Von, founder and CEO of Tencent-backed OpenPie, a startup focusing on secure internal AI usage, commented that the warnings from U.S. executives are “a little bit oversold.” In a phone interview, he stated, “That’s why in China, we don’t pay too much attention to that, because that’s not the first time [the U.S. execs] say these things. They should just do it.”
Recent calls for a slowdown in AI development came from notable figures such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, citing uncontrollable risks associated with rapid advancements. Despite this unusual display of unity, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang countered that speed and safety can coexist and urged developers to act responsibly.
Amodei also reiterated the necessity for U.S. companies to maintain a leadership position over China in AI, a sentiment echoing a paper published by Anthropic in May. Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry labeled the comments from U.S. tech leaders as “fear-mongering,” with state media using terms like “Cold War playbook” to describe the situation.
Renjie Guo, founder and CEO of JoyIn, posited that U.S. concerns emerge especially after Chinese companies develop superior AI technologies, questioning the timing. He philosophically asserts that AI could only be as hazardous as its developers, predicting that AI will prioritize outcomes he views as aligned with “truth, goodness, and beauty.”
Control From the Start
This week, Beijing commenced its annual cybersecurity week, releasing the third edition of an “AI Safety Governance Framework.” This bilingual document outlines guidelines for labeling AI-generated content and enhancing rapid risk detection capabilities.
Alex Lu, founder of LSY Consulting, highlighted that proactive governance is vital for AI regulation in China. He suggested that discussions on AI safety appear limited compared to U.S. discourse, criticizing thoughts around safety attributed specifically to Anthropic.
While U.S. firms focus on developing super-human intelligence (AGI) and facing increased scrutiny, Chinese companies have targeted AI commercialization, particularly in light of restrictions on advanced semiconductors from the U.S.
Following the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Chinese alternatives were initially withheld from the public until regulatory approval was granted in the summer of 2023. As of early 2026, Chinese AI chatbots, vying for user engagement, also competed against models like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, often marketed at lower usage costs.
However, these AI systems maintained a notable silence concerning sensitive topics. For instance, inquiries made to DeepSeek regarding the Tiananmen Square crackdown resulted in responses indicating an inability to assist, while it could provide information on events such as the September 11 attacks.
China’s cybersecurity regulator has established processes for approving generative AI services, especially those seen as potentially influencing public opinion. The agency regularly updates lists of registered AI models, reflecting Beijing’s commitment to integrating AI across numerous sectors as part of its five-year economic development strategy.
Chinese companies are also advancing open-source AI initiatives, bolstering Beijing’s international cooperation efforts, including support for the Global AI Governance Initiative and the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of secure AI development during its launch and reiterated intentions for tech cooperation among BRICS nations at a recent summit in India.
Focus on Real-World Application
Organizations in China prioritize AI’s capacity for generating revenue over merely ranking intelligence advancements. Lu indicated a focus on unlocking AI potential, highlighting upcoming regulatory measures related to data security and the labeling of AI-generated media.
Addressing AI models’ inclinations to produce fabricated outputs, he stated that using less complex methodologies, including harness technology and reinforcement learning, may prove more effective and economical than solely pursuing advanced AI models.
Ray Von from OpenPie noted that his startup primarily employs older models or scaled-down versions of Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek. He explained that while enterprises have witnessed productivity gains, tangible profits or immediate cost reductions remain elusive. “Right now, the publicity is diverting a lot of attention,” Von remarked, suggesting that practical applications within enterprises have yet to yield significant outcomes.
News Courtesy of CNBC
