The White House Is Trying to Figure Out What to Do About Chinese AI
The US administration is debating how to address the rise of Chinese AI models, specifically regarding 'distillation attacks' where Chinese labs train models using US intellectual property. Officials are considering potential sanctions or policy actions to protect US AI technology.
Why it matters
This highlights a growing geopolitical conflict over AI supremacy and the protection of proprietary technology between the US and China.
The Trump administration is split over how to respond to the rapid rise of China’s leading AI models, according to multiple people familiar with deliberations.
The debate is broadly divided between parts of the White House, which has pushed for stricter controls on Chinese AI that may soon rival the most powerful US models, and the Commerce Department, which has viewed those restrictions as unworkable.
The conundrum has become the latest flash point for the administration over AI, after China’s Moonshot AI lab last week released its Kimi K3 model that rivals the top US models from Anthropic and OpenAI.
In recent days, senior White House officials have discussed possible measures to stop China’s AI labs from developing their models by training them on US models, a practice known as distillation, the people say.
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