# The U.S. says China's AI progress is down to 'distillation.' But is it that clear cut?

> Source: <https://www.machinebrief.com/news/the-us-says-chinas-ai-progress-is-down-to-distillation-but-i-htdr>
> Published: 2026-09-18 13:00:01+00:00

# The U.S. says China's AI progress is down to 'distillation.' But is it that clear cut?

Source: 

[CNBC Technology](https://www.cnbc.com/technology/)
The U.S. administration and 

[Anthropic](https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/anthropic)have accused China's AI companies of '[distillation](https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/distillation)', but a growing cohort of voices are questioning the impact.
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