China has criticised the United States government’s decision to ban the use of artificial intelligence tools developed by Chinese startup DeepSeek across civilian federal agencies, describing the move as an excessive interpretation of national security.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a press conference on Tuesday, pledging to protect the interests of Chinese businesses amid growing technological competition between the two countries.
“China has consistently opposed the overstretching of the concept of national security and the politicisation of issues related to science, technology, and trade,” Mao said.
The reaction followed an announcement by the US Department of Homeland Security on Monday prohibiting civilian government agencies from using DeepSeek products, including third-party tools developed with the company’s technology.
The department said the artificial intelligence models presented potential security risks, warning that their use by government employees and contractors could expose sensitive information to China.
“DeepSeek’s models present multiple threat vectors,” the department said, directing that the tools be removed from government information technology devices.
It further argued that DeepSeek’s servers are located in China, where the country’s legal framework gives authorities extensive powers to access private companies’ infrastructure.
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The restriction applies to civilian federal agencies under the department’s authority, but does not extend to the US military or intelligence services.
The development comes amid intensifying competition between Washington and Beijing for leadership in artificial intelligence, with both countries raising concerns about technology security and the protection of intellectual property.
DeepSeek attracted global attention in January 2025 after introducing a comparatively low-cost, high-performance AI chatbot that challenged assumptions about the resources required to develop competitive artificial intelligence systems.
The Chinese company subsequently expanded its model offerings, releasing its V4 model in April and updating a faster, lightweight version this month.
Washington has also accused DeepSeek and other leading Chinese AI companies of systematically acquiring capabilities developed by American competitors. Such allegations have added to tensions surrounding technology transfers, data security and the global AI industry.
Despite the rivalry, the two countries agreed in September to establish a communication channel for addressing artificial intelligence-related incidents.
The issue could feature in discussions when the countries’ leaders meet next month at a summit in Shenzhen, China, as both governments seek to manage tensions over emerging technologies.
DeepSeek had yet to publicly respond to the latest US restrictions at the time of the report.