Technology

Beijing Rails Against ‘Politicization’ Of Tech As Feds Scrub Chinese AI From Government Systems

China News Service / Wikimedia Commons

Beijing is crying foul over an order scrubbing a prominent Chinese artificial intelligence firm’s products from federal government computers in the U.S.

China called on the U.S. to “withdraw” its restrictions on DeepSeek and warned of “resolute countermeasures” after the Department Of Homeland Security announced an order Monday removing the company’s products from federal agencies’ computer systems, the New York Times reported. The order covers products from other companies that rely on DeepSeek’s open-source models, but the DHS has not clarified how much those related products were used in federal computer systems.

“China will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in statement Tuesday, according to China Daily.

The Homeland Security order, originally issued in July, warned that Beijing could exploit DeepSeek to obtain sensitive data and develop “actionable intelligence,” according to the notice.

“China has consistently opposed the overgeneralization of the concept of national security and the politicization of science, technology and trade issues,” Mao added, according to a video of her remarks shared in a video posted to X on Tuesday.

DeepSeek is now off-limits to federal executive agencies after the nation’s homeland security, war and intelligence chiefs moved Friday to shut the company out under under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Secuirty Act of 2018, a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“These FASCSA orders prohibit the installation, accessing, or running of a Deepseek application by Executive agencies, and further require agencies to identify and remove any existing installations,” the spokesperson told the DCNF. “Agencies may not procure Deepseek applications or award contracts whose performance may involve them.”

“The Department remains committed to protecting American innovation and safeguarding Americans from intellectual property theft,” a DHS spokesperson told the DCNF, who added that the department does not typically disclose potential sanction actions.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington and DeepSeek each did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

U.S. agencies including CISA have accused the Chinese AI firm of distilling American models, according to a Sept. 8 press release.

The Chinese AI firm has previously been banned by the several federal agencies, including the Navy and NASA, the NYT reported. Some U.S. states also blocked the platform from government agencies.