{"slug": "china-is-getting-more-anxious-about-mythos-ahead-of-trump-xi-meeting", "title": "China is getting more anxious about Mythos ahead of Trump-Xi meeting", "summary": "China is growing anxious that Anthropic's Mythos AI model could be used as an offensive cyber weapon, adding a volatile issue ahead of President Xi Jinping's planned Sep 24 visit to the US. Beijing officials are concerned about the cyber capabilities of Mythos and other US frontier models, and question why Anthropic denies China access for normal purposes. China is not preparing immediate action but is drawing up potential responses, including sanctions or restricted-entity listings, should the US take measures against Chinese AI companies.", "body_md": "# China is getting more anxious about Mythos ahead of Trump-Xi meeting\n\nOfficials in Beijing are concerned about the cyber capabilities of AI frontier models made by US companies\n\nCHINA is growing anxious that Anthropic’s Mythos could be wielded against the world’s second-biggest economy, adding a volatile new issue to already heightened tensions [before a planned summit](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/global/trump-says-he-expects-host-chinas-xi-us-around-sep-24) between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Donald Trump.\n\nOfficials in Beijing are concerned about the cyber capabilities of Mythos and other artificial intelligence frontier models developed by US companies, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.\n\nThey see the potential for models like Mythos to be used as an offensive weapon, and question why [Anthropic is denying China access](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/china-doesnt-need-build-better-ai-us-win-tech-race) to the systems for normal purposes, the people said.\n\nChina wants to preserve a relatively warm atmosphere before Xi’s planned Sep 24 visit to the US, and is seeking a “win-win” approach at AI talks expected before the leaders meet, the people said.\n\nEven so, suspicion remains high between the governments, with the US expressing concern that Chinese companies are using American frontier models to train their own versions.\n\nUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month floated unspecified sanctions if model developers are found to have stolen intellectual property, after [Beijing-based Moonshot AI released a system](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/startups-tech/technology/chinas-moonshot-release-breakthrough-kimi-k3-ai-model-download) said to rival some of the best American models.\n\nChina’s Commerce Ministry, which oversees export controls, warned last week that it would take “all necessary measures” in response to the US threats.\n\nThe people familiar with the matter said Beijing is not preparing any immediate action against Anthropic or other US AI developers, but officials are drawing up potential responses should the US take measures against Chinese companies in the sector.\n\nChina’s options could include imposing sanctions or adding American AI companies to one of the nation’s restricted-entity lists, those people said.\n\nChina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred questions to the relevant authorities. The Ministry of Commerce did not respond to a faxed request for comment.\n\n## US “doubling down on innovation”\n\nTrump has signalled that his administration is weighing additional controls on AI while remaining wary of measures that could weaken US companies against Chinese competitors.\n\n“We have to be careful in both ways,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Jul 29. “We don’t want to restrict them where all of a sudden, [we come in second to China](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/us-and-chinas-ai-race-will-define-century).”\n\nWhite House spokesperson Liz Huston said that the administration was “doubling down on innovation to widen the gap between America and the rest of the world”.\n\nThe tensions illustrate how AI is becoming an increasingly unpredictable front in the US-China relationship. The two countries remain strategic rivals despite reaching a 12-month truce in October 2025 over tariffs and supplies of rare earth materials.\n\nWhile that deal is widely expected to be extended, both sides continue to pursue self-sufficiency in key industries and [maintain broad restrictions on cutting-edge technology](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/telcos-media-tech/silicon-valley-divided-over-restricting-chinese-ai-china-closes-gap-us).\n\nAI has increasingly been the focus of US national security curbs, most notably the restrictions on China’s ability to acquire cutting-edge Nvidia chips that power the technology.\n\nNew [limits on foreign-made robots](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/us-bans-new-chinese-humanoid-robots-shield-ai-buildout-national-security-risks) and power inverters, industries dominated by China, have widened the dispute into sectors that Beijing considers central to advanced manufacturing and economic growth.\n\nWu Xinbo, director of Fudan University’s Center for American Studies in Shanghai, said China’s concern about Anthropic fits a broader national security anxiety over US AI companies, citing their ability to collect customer data and share it with the US government or military.\n\n“That is why there is a growing concern over the national security challenge posed by those US AI companies,” Dr Wu said. “That’s quite understandable. You have to be cautious.”\n\n## Lobbying for limits\n\nAnthropic has emerged as a prominent advocate of tighter US restrictions on China’s access to advanced AI. CEO Dario Amodei has urged Washington to keep high-end chips out of China and require safety testing for powerful models.\n\nSeparately, the company has accused Chinese developers, including [Alibaba’s Qwen team](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/telcos-media-tech/alibaba-releases-new-qwen-ai-model-performance-rivalling-anthropics-fable), of improperly using outputs from its Claude systems to train competing models.\n\nThe Anthropic chief also warned last week that advanced Chinese AI could threaten US military superiority or deepen domestic repression, calling China’s ruling Communist Party “the most capable threat” among authoritarian governments.\n\nIn 2025, the company blocked its services from Chinese-controlled companies, citing US national security concerns. Because Anthropic does not operate in China, any sanctions imposed by Beijing would probably have limited immediate commercial impact.\n\nAnthropic declined to comment. It referred Bloomberg News to a May statement laying out its warnings about China and support for chip controls.\n\nWashington’s own policies towards Anthropic have been unsettled.\n\nIn June, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ordered the company to obtain licences before providing [its frontier Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/telcos-media-tech/us-allows-anthropic-release-mythos-ai-trusted-us-organisations) to foreign entities anywhere in the world. Anthropic temporarily disabled the models before reaching a resolution with the administration.\n\nThe company is also mired in a feud with the Trump administration over the use of its AI by the US military, touched off by the company’s insistence on extra safeguards for its tools. Officials have banned the federal government from using the company’s technology, a decision Anthropic is challenging in court.\n\n## Retaliating when tensions rise\n\nBeijing demonstrated its ability to hit back at US moves against its tech companies in June, when it placed export controls on MP Materials and USA Rare Earth.\n\nThat came after the Pentagon added major Chinese firms, including Alibaba and BYD, to [a list of firms it said support the Chinese military](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/telcos-media-tech/us-says-byd-baidu-alibaba-and-other-tech-giants-are-aiding-chinas-military).\n\nTop American and Chinese officials have raised points of friction between their countries even as they lay the groundwork for the September summit.\n\nVice-Premier He Lifeng expressed “serious concern” over the recent US economic and trade restrictions in a phone call with Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, without specifying the measures. Summaries of the call from both sides made no mention of AI.\n\nAt the same time, Chinese open-weight models – which can be freely downloaded and modified – have given Beijing an opportunity to cast itself internationally as a champion of broadly shared AI.\n\nIt has promoted open models, offered technology and training to developing economies and helped launch a 29-member cooperation group that could give Beijing greater influence over future standards.\n\nWhile some US developers, including OpenAI, offer open-weight models, much of the American industry’s focus has been on proprietary systems that companies sell to customers while retaining control over the underlying technology.\n\nChinese companies, including DeepSeek, have released [more affordable, open models](https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/china-narrows-ai-gap-us-open-source-shift-could-hit-valuations-george-yeo) that typically lag behind the most cutting-edge software from US rivals but nonetheless offer a compelling product for the price.\n\nChina has its own security concerns with AI released by Chinese companies. Officials have discussed with AI companies, including Alibaba, how to mitigate the risks posed by their increasingly powerful models.\n\nYuyuantantian, a social-media account linked to China’s state broadcaster and frequently used to signal official policy thinking, proposed last week a tiered system for releasing future AI models, with access determined by the power and potential risks of their capabilities. BLOOMBERG\n\nDecoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. 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