China has dismissed urgent calls from U.S. technology leaders to slow down artificial intelligence development, rejecting the proposals as “fearmongering” and a “Cold War playbook” designed to hobble foreign competition. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in a regular briefing that confrontation and malicious competition disrupt global AI governance.
Amodei Essay and U.S. Calls for a Slowdown
The rejection follows a lengthy essay published on Saturday by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei titled “We Must Pace the Frontier,” which was subsequently endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Amodei argued that companies should deliberately slow the pace of improving advanced models due to potential risks, while also urging the U.S. to restrict technology sales to China because a Chinese lead would pose grave dangers.
Amodei identified China as the “toughest dilemma” for his proposed speed limit, noting that the immense military advantages and incentives to pull ahead make international cooperation difficult. Despite the hurdles, Amodei proposed a three-step framework beginning with independent third-party evaluations, followed by coordination among democratic nations, and eventual engagement with authoritarian governments.
Beijing and Washington Diverge on AI Governance
While Washington figures debate the merits of industry slowdowns, U.S. President Donald Trump rebuffed the safety warnings during a Sunday press conference, telling reporters, “Whoever wins AI wins,” and stating his focus is maintaining America’s lead over China. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a consensus-based global AI governance framework during the BRICS bloc summit in India.
At the same time, state security measures are tightening inside China. State Security Minister Chen Yixin stated in an article for the state-run China Cyberspace magazine that Beijing must accelerate risk prevention and control systems while engaging in international cooperation, identifying the technology as a new track for strategic rivalry.
Industry Reception and Upcoming Diplomatic Talks
Industry executives have split over the practicalities of the slowdown proposal even as they praise its direction. Google DeepMind Chair Demis Hassabis wrote on X that the direction is correct for a critical moment, while Elon Musk stated that peer review by competitors provides a valid starting point. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also posted support for pacing the frontier on X, though he noted in a Fortune interview that OpenAI is not planning an initial public offering this year.
The starkly different approaches to managing technological progress are expected to form a central agenda item when President Trump and President Xi meet on September 24 at the White House.
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