The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, issued a rebuttal on Wednesday regarding recent US allegations that Chinese artificial intelligence companies have engaged in the unauthorized distillation of American frontier AI models. The US government has previously alleged that these companies are using American technology to train their own systems on an industrial scale, a practice Washington views as a threat to national security and intellectual property rights.

In its commentary, the People’s Daily dismissed these claims as being entirely without factual or legal merit. The publication argued that the activities described by US officials are standard technical and commercial practices within the global AI industry. Furthermore, the outlet accused the United States of politicizing these interactions to justify the suppression of China’s growing AI sector. The commentary concluded with a warning that Beijing is prepared to implement countermeasures if the US continues its current regulatory and restrictive approach toward Chinese technology firms.

While the People’s Daily frames the US actions as an unfair attempt to stifle competition, the US government maintains that the distillation of proprietary models constitutes a significant security risk. The disagreement highlights a growing divide between the two nations regarding the governance of AI development and the definition of fair trade in the digital age. As of now, specific details regarding the nature of the alleged 'countermeasures' have not been disclosed by Chinese officials.