China protests US Deepseek ban, demands reversal

The ban follows a US Department of Homeland Security order telling civilian federal agencies to strip Deepseek from their IT systems, including third-party software built on its open-source models. China's response has been sharp: the Foreign Ministry calls it an overreach of national security, and the Commerce Ministry wants it reversed.

The substance is awkward for Beijing. Since 2023, the Cyberspace Administration has required AI services to pass review and comply with political guidelines, and ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are not approved in China. State bodies are also supposed to swap foreign hardware and software for domestic products. The US side points to China's 2017 National Intelligence Law, which obliges companies and citizens to support intelligence work, and to US allegations that Chinese firms copy top American models at industrial scale — charges Beijing denies.

The protest is best read as groundwork. It reassures domestic companies, supports a narrative abroad that the US wants to monopolize AI, and gives Beijing a frame for later retaliation. Both governments invoke national security, and the US likewise links security and economic policy through chip export controls.