China has pushed back against what it calls "threat narratives" around artificial intelligence, warning against "confrontation and malicious competition" after Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for AI development to slow down without letting China overtake the US. The exchange highlights deepening strain between the world's two leading AI powers, coming amid a week of stark warnings from figures at major US AI labs about existential risks, even as President Donald Trump insists his priority is ensuring America outpaces China in the technology race.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that "narratives of threat, confrontation, and malicious competition" only disrupt global AI governance, urging cooperation on AI that is "open, inclusive, beneficial to all". Analysts say a genuine US-China agreement to jointly regulate AI is "next to impossible" given both nations treat it as a core national security interest, though China has separately acknowledged risks, with state security minister Chen Yixin calling for stronger laws and safeguards against "hostile forces". Beijing has also launched the World AI Cooperation Organisation and proposed an open-source AI community at the Brics summit, while in the US, tech leaders including OpenAI's Sam Altman and Microsoft's Satya Nadella have echoed calls for stronger safety measures following a former Anthropic researcher's warning about catastrophic risks from unchecked AI development.