China Defends DeepSeek After US Federal AI Ban

US agencies ordered to remove DeepSeek

China criticized a U.S. prohibition on federal civilian agencies using products from Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek. The Department of Homeland Security said agencies must remove DeepSeek and affiliated products, as well as third-party products and services developed using them, from their information-technology systems. The order also blocks civilian agencies from procuring DeepSeek products and services, according to AP reporting carried by ABC News.

The notice, made public on Monday and dating to late July, states that DeepSeek’s models present multiple threat vectors. It cites concerns about servers being located in China and the potential for Chinese authorities to access infrastructure and sensitive U.S. data.

Beijing rejects the national-security rationale

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China would “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.” She also said China consistently opposes what it describes as the overstretching of the concept of national security and the politicizing of science, technology, economic and trade issues.

A separate report from Dimsum Daily likewise said Beijing accused Washington of using national security to politicize science, technology, and economic and trade matters. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AI competition remains unsettled

DeepSeek’s open-source models are widely available in countries including the United States and are mostly free to use, ABC News reported. The U.S. measure comes amid continued restrictions on China’s access to advanced AI chips and other differences over AI governance.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the APEC leaders’ summit in Shenzhen in mid-November. AI is expected to be among the issues discussed. The scheduled meeting has not occurred as of the supplied reporting.