中国考虑对其顶尖AI模型实施出口限制，欧洲夹在中间

China is looking into restricting foreign access to its most advanced AI models. Authorities have already held talks with tech giants like Alibaba and Bytedance. For Europe, which relies heavily on outside AI development, this raises the risk of losing access to cheap alternatives to US services. At the same time, European expertise is increasingly flowing into foreign models. The EU wants to build its own AI capacity through the 200 billion euro InvestAI initiative. But the planned data centers are behind schedule, and the budget is small compared to what American tech companies are spending. China is weighing restrictions on foreign access to its most advanced AI models. Both superpowers now treat AI as a strategic asset. Europe's already weak bargaining position could erode further as a result. Chinese authorities held talks last month with leading tech companies about potentially restricting foreign access to China's most advanced AI models, Reuters reports , citing three people familiar with the discussions. The restrictions would also cover unreleased models. Alibaba, ByteDance, and the startup Z.ai all attended the meetings, according to the report. The talks, led by the Ministry of Commerce, covered limits on high-performance systems, both closed and open models. Officials considered placing theft or transfer of protected AI technology under China's strict national security law, according to one source. They also discussed tighter controls over who can fund domestic AI startups. The scope of any rules is still being debated and may only apply to future models. Whether and when they take effect remains an open question. Ad Since DeepSeek's R1 launched, Chinese models have gained ground worldwide thanks to low costs and growing capabilities. Alibaba's Qwen and ByteDance's Doubao rank among the most widely used models in China, and Z.ai recently made waves with GLM-5.2 , which approaches US frontier performance at a fraction of the cost. If Beijing limits access, costs for many companies would rise. Ad DEC_D_Incontent-1 The move fits into a broader pattern of protectionist steps. In April, China's state planning agency ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of the Chinese-founded startup Manus. Tighter rules on overseas business dealings followed in early June, covering Chinese investors, technology, and data. China also investigated Manus and other startups that had moved abroad for possible export control violations. What access restrictions might look like was sketched out at an expert panel in May, whose summary appeared in a journal of the Supreme People's Court, according to Reuters. The panel proposed a tiered system. Basic open-source tools would only require registration. Advanced technologies would need a security review. The most sensitive frontier models would either not be released publicly at all or be limited to domestic use. Ad China is mirroring an approach Washington already took. The Trump administration worries about foreign military and intelligence agencies misusing American AI. In June, it barred foreign nationals from accessing Anthropic's most advanced models, Fable and Mythos . Because nationality couldn't be verified in real time, Anthropic initially shut the models down worldwide. Export controls on Fable were lifted after new safeguards were put in place. Mythos, designed for cybersecurity professionals, remains restricted to a handful of trusted US organizations and vetted partners. Chinese officials fear Washington could use Mythos to exploit software vulnerabilities against Chinese interests, according to Reuters. Zhou Hongyi, founder of security firm 360, is calling for a Chinese equivalent to Mythos . Ad DEC_D_Incontent-2 For Europe, this is more than a footnote. Both superpowers now treat their best AI models as strategic assets they'll withhold if needed. Until now, many saw China's open, freely downloadable models as a sovereign alternative to pricier US services.