US State Department Directs Global Diplomatic Campaign Against Chinese AI Firms Over Alleged Intellectual Property Theft

Apr 25, 2026, 10:03

Introduction

The United States Department of State has issued a diplomatic cable ordering a worldwide initiative to publicize alleged intellectual property theft by Chinese artificial intelligence companies, including DeepSeek, through the process of model distillation. The cable, dated April 24, instructs diplomatic personnel to inform foreign counterparts of the risks associated with utilizing AI models derived from US proprietary systems and to prepare for subsequent US government actions.

Main Body

The cable defines distillation as a technique whereby smaller AI models are trained using outputs from larger, more expensive models, thereby reducing training costs. It asserts that unauthorized distillation campaigns enable foreign actors to release products that appear to perform comparably on certain benchmarks at a lower cost, but do not replicate the full performance of the original system. Furthermore, the cable claims that such campaigns deliberately remove security protocols and mechanisms intended to ensure ideological neutrality and truth-seeking in AI models. The cable specifically names Chinese AI firms DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and MiniMax. DeepSeek recently launched a preview of a new model adapted for Huawei chip technology, underscoring China's increasing self-sufficiency in the AI sector. The White House has made similar accusations, which the Chinese Embassy in Washington characterized as baseless, reiterating that Beijing places high importance on intellectual property protection. Neither the State Department, DeepSeek, nor the Chinese Embassy responded immediately to requests for comment. The document, sent to diplomatic and consular posts globally, instructs staff to discuss concerns regarding adversaries' extraction and distillation of US AI models. A separate demarche request and message have been transmitted to Beijing for direct engagement with Chinese authorities. This cable follows a February warning from OpenAI to US lawmakers that DeepSeek was targeting US AI labs to replicate models for its own training. The cable's issuance occurs weeks before President Donald Trump's scheduled visit to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. According to the source material, this timing is anticipated to heighten the long-standing technological competition between the two nations, which had experienced a temporary reduction in tensions following a rapprochement brokered in October of the previous year.

Conclusion

The US State Department's global diplomatic push highlights the administration's intensified focus on safeguarding US AI intellectual property from alleged Chinese distillation practices. The situation remains characterized by opposing positions, with US authorities asserting widespread IP theft and Chinese officials denying the allegations and affirming their commitment to IP protection.

Vocabulary Learning

adversaries (n.)
enemies or opponents / 對手；敵方
Example:The document instructs staff to discuss concerns regarding adversaries' extraction and distillation of US AI models.
demarche (n.)
a political step or initiative, especially in diplomacy / 外交行動；正式交涉
Example:A separate demarche request and message have been transmitted to Beijing for direct engagement with Chinese authorities.
distillation (n.)
the process of extracting the essential meaning or most important aspects; here, a technique for training smaller AI models using outputs from larger ones / 提煉；蒸餾（人工智能模型蒸餾技術）
Example:The cable defines distillation as a technique whereby smaller AI models are trained using outputs from larger, more expensive models.
proprietary (adj.)
relating to an owner or ownership; privately owned and controlled / 專有的；所有權的
Example:The cable instructs diplomatic personnel to inform foreign counterparts of the risks associated with utilizing AI models derived from US proprietary systems.
rapprochement (n.)
a resumption of harmonious relations / 和解；恢復友好關係
Example:The temporary reduction in tensions followed a rapprochement brokered in October of the previous year.

Sentence Learning

The cable, dated April 24, instructs diplomatic personnel to inform foreign counterparts of the risks associated with utilizing AI models derived from US proprietary systems and to prepare for subsequent US government actions.
Reduced Relative Clauses & Parallel Infinitives: The sentence employs two reduced relative clauses ('associated with utilizing AI models' and 'derived from US proprietary systems') that omit the relative pronoun and auxiliary verb, condensing information. It also uses parallel infinitive phrases ('to inform... and to prepare...') for balanced structure.句子使用了兩個縮減關係從句（「associated with utilizing AI models」和「derived from US proprietary systems」），省略了關係代詞和助動詞，使信息更緊湊。同時並列使用不定式短語（「to inform... and to prepare...」）以達到結構平衡。
It asserts that unauthorized distillation campaigns enable foreign actors to release products that appear to perform comparably on certain benchmarks at a lower cost, but do not replicate the full performance of the original system.
Contrastive Coordination & Relative Clause: The sentence features a contrastive coordination ('but do not replicate') within a complex that-clause, and a defining relative clause ('that appear to perform...') modifying 'products'. This structure highlights a nuanced comparison.句子在複雜的that從句中使用了對比並列結構（「but do not replicate」），並包含一個限制性關係從句（「that appear to perform...」）修飾「products」。此結構突出了細微的比較。
Furthermore, the cable claims that such campaigns deliberately remove security protocols and mechanisms intended to ensure ideological neutrality and truth-seeking in AI models.
Reduced Relative Clause & Nominalization: The phrase 'intended to ensure...' is a reduced relative clause (omitting 'which are') modifying 'protocols and mechanisms'. Additionally, 'ideological neutrality' and 'truth-seeking' are nominalizations that abstract complex concepts.短語「intended to ensure...」是縮減關係從句（省略了「which are」），修飾「protocols and mechanisms」。此外，「ideological neutrality」和「truth-seeking」是名詞化結構，將複雜概念抽象化。
DeepSeek recently launched a preview of a new model adapted for Huawei chip technology, underscoring China's increasing self-sufficiency in the AI sector.
Participial Phrase as Resultative: The participial phrase 'underscoring China's increasing self-sufficiency...' functions as a resultative adjunct, providing a consequence or additional commentary on the main clause. It adds lexical density and rhetorical effect.分詞短語「underscoring China's increasing self-sufficiency...」充當結果狀語，對主句提供結果或補充評論。它增加了詞彙密度和修辭效果。
The situation remains characterized by opposing positions, with US authorities asserting widespread IP theft and Chinese officials denying the allegations and affirming their commitment to IP protection.
Absolute Construction with Participial Phrases: The 'with' + noun + present participle structure ('with US authorities asserting... and Chinese officials denying... and affirming...') forms an absolute construction that provides background information and parallel actions, enhancing syntactic sophistication.「with + 名詞 + 現在分詞」結構（「with US authorities asserting... and Chinese officials denying... and affirming...」）構成獨立主格結構，提供背景信息和平行動作，增強了句法的複雜性。