China MOFCOM: US, China Have Agreed To Launch An Intergovernmental Dialogue On AI - Warns Of ‘Resolute Countermeasures’ If US Side Takes Action To Suppress Chinese AI Firms Under Pretext Of Cracking Down On Distillation

China’s MOFCOM has released an updated the country’s export control catalogue for drug precursor chemicals. Exporters must obtain licenses for specified chemicals shipped to the US, Mexico, Canada, Myanmar, Laos & Afghanistan. No license required to other countries. Effective immediately. This appears to be an extension of U.S.-China fentanyl agreement. China-US trade talks must be going great.

Lin Weilong, director of the Policy Research Office from China's Ministry of Commerce (#MOFCOM#) on Tuesday rejected a #US# Section 301 investigation into the so-called "overcapacity" issue, saying on Tuesday that the move was a typical act of unilateralism that seriously undermines the international economic order. #China# will closely monitor developments and reserves the right to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, said Lin Weilong, director of the Policy Research Office of the MOFCOM.

SITUATION EXPLAINED: China is threatening to retaliate against potential US sanctions on AI models. • China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) called the sanction threats a "smear campaign" representing "typical acts of AI hegemony," vowing "all necessary measures" to safeguard its interests • This follows Scott Bessent's threat to examine Chinese AI models for IP theft, echoing accusations from both OpenAI and Anthropic that Chinese labs used their models to train rival systems • MOFCOM's language here is nearly identical to statements it's issued in at least five separate US-China tech disputes since 2020, including Huawei sanctions and prior Entity List additions, genuinely recycled diplomatic boilerplate • "China's Final Warning" is a Soviet-era ironic idiom for a warning that carries no real consequences • The statement does end on a more conciliatory note, calling on the US to strengthen AI dialogue and jointly improve governance of the technology @theojaffee: "What is China gonna do if the US sanctions Chinese models? I actually do think this time they're relatively more powerful than they were in the '70s, and they may very well respond. But it's unclear what they'll do." @schisofrenia: "Just scale up more aggressively in the Third World or the middle powers or something."