China defends DeepSeek after US ban

China is pushing back against the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) order to remove products from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek from government systems, warning of potential retaliation.

A DHS order, which dates back to July but published to the Federal Register Monday, said DeepSeek’s AI models present “multiple threat vectors,” and ordered them to be removed from federal agency AI systems and barred from government contracting.

When asked on Tuesday about the order, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing “consistently opposes overstretching the concept of national security and politicizing tech and trade issues.”

“We will resolutely safeguard Chinese businesses’ lawful rights and interests,” she told reporters at the briefing in Beijing.

DHS warned DeepSeek’s models can collect personally identifiable information and may “track or digitally fingerprint” users, along with containing malware or other security vulnerabilities.

The prompt-and-response process in some of DeepSeek’s most widely used applications could result in the “transfer of sensitive data to the PRC [People’s Republic of China] if used by U.S. government or vendors,” the agency said.

The Associated Press later reported China’s Ministry of Commerce expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” against the order, arguing the U.S. disregarded the agreement reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Trump.

Under “the guise of national security,” the U.S. is attempting to suppress China, the commerce ministry said, the AP reported. “China will closely monitor the situation and take all necessary measures to firmly defend its legitimate rights and interests.”

DeepSeek’s models stirred up anxiety in Silicon Valley and Wall Street at the beginning of last year when it released the R1 model, which drew comparisons to U.S.-made models for a fraction of the cost.

During Xi’s visit to Washington, D.C., last month, the two world leaders discussed AI , which Trump has taken to calling super intelligence.

The U.S. and China agreed to launch new talks on AI and establish a channel for handling AI-related incidents. The first AI-specific talk is scheduled for November.

Competition between China and the U.S. on AI development remains tight as Beijing pours its resources in open-source models, which are cheaper, but often less secure. DeepSeek has both open-source and proprietary models, which are available around the world, including in the U.S .