China Rejects Silicon Valley's AI Slowdown Pitch
Original: China Isn’t Buying Silicon Valley’s Call for an AI Slowdown
Why This Matters
Any global AI governance framework collapses without Chinese buy-in — this gap shows how far apart the two sides actually are.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call for US-China cooperation to slow AI development has been flatly rejected by Beijing. China's Foreign Ministry called the proposal 'fear-mongering,' arguing the deal would entrench US dominance while restricting China — a position shared by Chinese AI researchers and officials alike.
Amodei's September blog post, titled 'We Must Pace the Frontier,' argued that AI risks are severe enough to require US-China cooperation — but also insisted the US should maximize its lead over China before any such talks begin. That combination landed badly in Beijing. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun called the proposal 'fear-mongering, confrontation, and vicious competition.' Amodei also urged the US to crack down on chip smuggling and unauthorized model distillation by Chinese firms, which Chinese observers read as conditions designed to subordinate China rather than partner with it. 'His essay specifically says the pacing of AI is conditional to increasing the lead over China,' said Alvin Wang Graylin of the Asia Society Policy Institute, noting the proposal 'feels inauthentic to Chinese readers.' Kevin Xu of Interconnected Capital, a former Obama White House staffer, noted that China's AI safety community does share many concerns with US labs — the disagreement is structural. Beijing won't negotiate from a position of disadvantage. Amodei himself later admitted on television that he has 'no idea how to negotiate with China,' which did little to bolster the proposal's credibility as a serious diplomatic overture.