{"slug": "us-could-sanction-china-over-ai-model-theft-says-bessent", "title": "US could sanction China over AI model theft, says Bessent", "summary": "Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled the US could impose sanctions on China over theft of American AI models, calling China surpassing the US in AI the single biggest risk facing the country. A bipartisan House bill targets foreign actors extracting features from closed-source US AI models, and the White House accused entities in China of running industrial-scale campaigns to extract US AI capabilities.", "body_md": "# US could sanction China over AI model theft, says Bessent\n\nTreasury secretary flags China's AI ambitions as America's biggest risk, as bipartisan legislation targets foreign actors stealing US model capabilities\n\nTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent has signaled that the US could impose sanctions on China over the theft of American AI models, marking a sharp escalation in the technology cold war between the world’s two largest economies.\n\n## What’s actually happening\n\nBessent has described China surpassing the US in artificial intelligence as the single biggest risk facing the country, prioritizing it above even AI safety concerns and job displacement.\n\nWhite House OSTP Director Michael Kratsios issued a memo accusing entities in China of running “industrial-scale campaigns” to extract capabilities from US AI systems.\n\nA bipartisan House bill has been introduced that would sanction foreign actors involved in extracting key features from closed-source US AI models.\n\nFollowing a summit between Trump and Xi, the US and China announced plans to establish AI safety protocols specifically targeting non-state access to advanced models.\n\n## Why this is bigger than AI\n\nBessent’s framing reveals something important about how the current administration views economic competition. By elevating AI theft above traditional trade disputes, the Treasury is essentially creating a new category of economic warfare. Sanctions have traditionally targeted energy exports, financial systems, and military supply chains. Adding AI model theft to the sanctions toolkit expands the government’s reach into the technology sector in ways that could reshape investment flows for years.\n\nFor US tech companies building AI models, stricter regulations around intellectual property protection could mean higher compliance costs and more friction in international partnerships.\n\n**Disclosure:** This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our\n\n[Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/us-could-sanction-china-over-ai-model-theft-says-bessent", "canonical_source": "https://cryptobriefing.com/us-sanctions-china-ai-model-theft-bessent/", "published_at": "2026-07-21 13:42:54+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-21 13:57:52.426430+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-safety", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["Scott Bessent", "China", "United States", "Michael Kratsios", "White House OSTP", "House of Representatives", "Donald Trump", "Xi Jinping"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/us-could-sanction-china-over-ai-model-theft-says-bessent", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/us-could-sanction-china-over-ai-model-theft-says-bessent.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/us-could-sanction-china-over-ai-model-theft-says-bessent.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/us-could-sanction-china-over-ai-model-theft-says-bessent.jsonld"}}