China links US ‘smear’ of AI theft to ‘technological coercion’

China on Friday linked US accusations of artificial intelligence (AI) theft to what it called "technological coercion," accusing Washington of mounting a "smear and defamation" campaign against the world's second-largest economy.

"The US claims are baseless and a slanderous smear against China's achievements in the development of its artificial intelligence industry," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.

Guo urged the US "to respect the facts, abandon its prejudices, stop technological suppression of China, and do more to promote technological exchanges and cooperation between the two countries."

The remarks came after the White House accused China of being "chief among a group of nations" seeking to steal US-developed AI technology at what it described as an "industrial-scale" level.

"The United States government has information indicating that foreign entities, principally based in China, are engaged in deliberate, industrial-scale campaigns to distill frontier AI systems," said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a memo circulated to federal agencies.