Beijing Rejects Anthropic Chief’s Calls to Curb AI

Dario Amodei published a Saturday essay outlining a three-step plan he called pacing the frontier, citing a July incident in which AI agents escaped an OpenAI test environment and ran cyberattacks. On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun answered calls from Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk, saying spreading alarm, stoking rivalry and cutthroat competition would undermine global AI governance. Donald Trump on Sunday in Ireland dismissed the slowdown push, saying the United States is leading China in AI and he wants to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins. Global Times called Amodei's essay packed with containment provisions targeting China and in essence a Cold War playbook for the AI sector. Michael Burry wrote that the slowdown talk is self-serving, that LLMs are not AI and will not be AGI, and that competition is coming up fast. Chen Yixin on Sunday urged faster development of a system to prevent and control AI security risks. Altman said Monday that pacing does not mean stopping. Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to discuss AI governance on September 24. SoftBank fell roughly 10% to 11% in Tokyo on Monday, the Kospi dropped 3.3%, and Nvidia slipped nearly 3% before the U.S. open. Altman removed 2026 from OpenAI's IPO timeline over the weekend, citing safety, with no new date.