Chinese authorities are reportedly advising the country’s top artificial intelligence entrepreneurs and researchers to avoid travel to the United States, according to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cited sources familiar with the matter.
File photo: Screen displays news footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Authorities are concerned that Chinese AI experts traveling abroad could inadvertently disclose confidential information about the nation’s advancements in the field. The Journal also reported a fear that executives could potentially be detained and utilized as leverage in U.S.-China negotiations. This concern draws parallels to the detention of a Huawei executive in Canada at the request of Washington during the Trump administration.
The U.S. and China are currently engaged in a global competition in the field of AI. The Chinese startup DeepSeek recently unveiled AI models that purportedly rival or surpass those of leading U.S. companies like OpenAI and Alphabet Inc’s Google, but at a significantly lower cost.
Neither the White House nor China’s State Council Information Office, which handles media inquiries on behalf of the government, immediately responded to requests for comment from Reuters.
On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed a meeting of top Communist Party officials and emphasized the importance of improving China’s overall security posture, including in the areas of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, as reported by China’s state broadcaster on Saturday. Xi reportedly stated that the country should “give top priority to defending the country’s political security.”
Last month, the Chinese leader met with some of the most prominent figures in China’s technology sector, urging them to “show their talent” and to have confidence in the strength of China’s model and market.
According to the Journal, Chinese executives who do choose to travel are expected to report their plans before departure and, upon returning, brief authorities on their activities and the people they met. The report noted that DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng turned down an invitation to attend an AI summit in Paris in February. Additionally, another founder of a prominent Chinese AI startup canceled a planned trip to the U.S. last year following instructions from Beijing.
