China’s state-backed Global Times has accused Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei of using concerns over artificial intelligence safety as a pretext to contain China’s technological development, describing his proposal to slow the pace of advanced AI as a “Cold War playbook.”
The criticism comes as the United States and China compete for leadership in artificial intelligence, with both governments seeking advantages in advanced chips, computing infrastructure and increasingly capable AI models.
In an essay published on Saturday, Amodei proposed a framework to slow the development of frontier AI systems to give companies and governments more time to address safety risks. The proposal has won support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Amodei has also called for tighter U.S. restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductors to China and tougher action against what he described as model distillation by Chinese AI laboratories, in which a smaller model learns from the outputs of a more capable system.
The Global Times said the apparent focus on AI safety obscured what it described as a broader strategic objective.
The newspaper said the true agenda of Amodei’s essay was “to attempt to curb China’s AI development through technological barriers and regulatory monopolies, uphold Washington’s monopolistic hegemony in cutting-edge technology, and exclude China from the global AI governance system.”
“This ‘silent AI Cold War’ is hypocritical and short-sighted,” it said, adding that excluding China from global AI innovation would “significantly increase the trial-and-error costs and risks of loss of control in global AI development”.
The editorial reflects a broader dispute over whether competition between Washington and Beijing can be separated from efforts to establish safeguards for increasingly powerful AI systems.
U.S. lawmakers have been pressing for greater oversight of AI following warnings from researchers at Anthropic that rapid advances in the technology could eventually pose catastrophic risks, including the possibility of human extinction.
Amodei said in a CBS interview on Sunday that the competition between U.S. and Chinese AI companies presented the “toughest dilemma” for his proposal to establish a “speed limit” for AI development.
The dilemma, he said, was that slowing U.S. development could leave Washington at a disadvantage if China or other rivals continued advancing rapidly.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, rejected calls to slow AI development on Sunday, saying critics were “very negative forces” raising concerns about scenarios that would not occur.
“We’re leading China in AI. We’re the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments underline the tension within Washington between maintaining U.S. technological leadership and imposing restrictions intended to manage AI’s risks.
The United States has already imposed extensive controls on exports of advanced chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, arguing that the restrictions are necessary to protect national security and limit China’s access to technologies that could strengthen its military capabilities.
Beijing has strongly opposed those controls and has sought to accelerate domestic development of advanced semiconductors and AI systems.
The AI rivalry is also increasingly linked to the two countries’ broader strategic competition, including military technology, data infrastructure and access to computing power.
The United States and China are planning to discuss frontier AI safety risks in mid-September, according to sources. The issue could also be raised at a planned Sept. 24 summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The debate over AI safety comes as leading technology companies race to develop models with increasingly sophisticated reasoning, coding and autonomous capabilities. Safety researchers have warned that the pace of development may be outstripping the ability of governments and companies to test and control the systems.
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Faustine Ngila is the AI Editor at Impact Newswire, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an award-winning journalist specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and emerging technologies.
He previously worked as a global technology reporter at Quartz in New York and Digital Frontier in London, where he covered innovation, startups, and the global digital economy.
With years of experience reporting on cutting-edge technologies, Faustine focuses on AI developments, industry trends, and the impact of technology on society.
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