US-China AI rivalry widens to third countries as Beijing rejects picking sides

China has rejected a reported US effort to make other governments choose a side in the ongoing US-China AI race.

The long ongoing competition between the US and China over the lead in the artificial intelligence industry is entering a new chapter where other nations can no longer sit and watch from the sidelines.  

Will countries be forced to pick between US and Chinese AI technology? 

Following a reported attempt by the US to pressure countries that had backed an AI cooperation pact, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a Beijing briefing that China opposes forcing countries into rival groups over AI, arguing that governments should be free to pick partners on their own terms.

Reportedly, Washington wrote to about 35 signatories of a joint statement on AI partnership, telling them they could not stay in the US-led AI initiative while also joining Chinese-backed efforts. 

Reuters, which reviewed an internal US draft and spoke to a US official, reported that the government is preparing to tell dozens of countries they must line up behind a US-led AI coalition or be shut out of it if they sign onto Beijing’s rival framework. 

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