China slams Anthropic’s AI proposal as attack on its tech rise

China has criticised a call by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to slow the development of advanced artificial intelligence, with the state-backed Global Times accusing the US company of pursuing a “Cold War playbook” aimed at China.

In an editorial, the newspaper said Amodei’s essay may appear to be a rational appeal focused on AI safety risks, but argued that its underlying purpose was to restrict China’s technological development.

In the essay, published on September 12 and later endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Amodei proposed a framework for slowing the development of frontier AI capabilities to create more time to address growing safety risks.

Amodei also called on Washington to strengthen chip export controls targeting China and crack down on alleged efforts by Chinese AI laboratories to use model distillation to replicate advanced AI systems. He said the “toughest dilemma” surrounding his proposal would arise if China and other adversarial countries chose not to slow their own AI development.

The Global Times said the true agenda behind Amodei’s proposal was “to attempt to curb China's AI development through technological barriers and regulatory monopolies, uphold Washington's monopolistic hegemony in cutting-edge technology, and exclude China from the global AI governance system.”

“This 'silent AI Cold War' is hypocritical and short-sighted,” the newspaper said, warning that excluding China from global AI innovation would “significantly increase the trial-and-error costs and risks of loss of control in global ⁠AI development”.

The dispute comes amid growing calls in the United States for tighter regulation of AI systems. US lawmakers have urged new rules following warnings from two Anthropic researchers that rapid advances in AI could potentially lead to the extinction of humanity in the not-too-distant future.

US President Donald Trump dismissed calls to slow AI development on September 13, saying that “very negative forces” were raising exaggerated concerns.

“We're leading China in AI. We're the most sophisticated country in the ⁠world, and frankly I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins,” Trump said.

Asked about calls from US technology leaders to slow AI development, China's Foreign Ministry urged all parties to “promote an open, inclusive and benevolent approach ⁠to AI.”

“Fomenting various threats, engaging in confrontation and malicious competition will only disrupt the process of global governance of artificial intelligence and is not in the interests of any party,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters at a daily briefing.

The United States and China are expected to discuss frontier AI safety risks in mid-September, according to sources. The issue could also be raised during a planned September 24 summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

By Vafa Guliyeva