China Party Mouthpiece Warns Against 'Iron Curtain' in World AI

What happened

China's People's Daily published a commentary on July 15, 2026 warning against an 'AI Iron Curtain' and calling for US-China cooperation on AI development and governance, rather than competing for technology monopoly.

Context and impact

The commentary coincided with President Xi Jinping's keynote at China's premier tech summit. It directly contrasts with US measures: Washington is pressuring Anthropic, OpenAI, and other labs to restrict foreign access to frontier models on national security grounds.

Details

• People's Daily: world does not want an 'AI Iron Curtain' or rival spheres of influence
• China: AI must not be used as a tool for hegemony or monopolizing resources
• Xi Jinping: US and China share broad common interests in AI benefiting humanity
• Context: US executive orders restricting frontier model exports
• Tension: US pressuring Anthropic and OpenAI to limit foreign customer access