China rebuffs AI slowdown calls ahead of Trump-Xi summit: 5 things to know

China's pushback against a global AI slowdown is clear. Beijing frames US calls for restraint as a tactic to maintain American dominance. This stance reflects a broader distrust, especially after US government agencies accused Chinese labs of using "industrial-scale" distillation to replicate American models. China's Foreign Ministry warns against "malicious competition" from US executives.

For Asia, this means continued acceleration in China's domestic AI sector. Chinese companies like Zhipu are already focusing on operational risks and developing security initiatives, such as Zhipu's "Shield of Open Source" for its GLM-5.3 model. Huawei's Eric Xu urges faster development to fully grasp AI risks. The gap between US closed-weight and Chinese open-weight models is narrowing, with China leading in AI adoption; 80% of Chinese respondents use AI weekly, compared to 54% in the US.

The thing to watch is the Trump-Xi summit. While both sides acknowledge transnational AI risks, deep distrust limits progress. Analysts like Gavekal's Laila Khawaja predict no binding agreements. The test for any future cooperation is whether either side will implement safeguards on its own industry first, a move currently lacking incentives.