White House Accuses China of Industrial-Scale AI Model Theft Campaign

Apr 24, 2026

White House science advisor Michael Kratsios accused China-based entities of conducting industrial-scale campaigns to steal frontier AI models from US companies using tens of thousands of surrogate accounts and distillation techniques. OpenAI warned that Chinese startup DeepSeek has been attempting to replicate ChatGPT's performance, while Anthropic identified DeepSeek and two other labs conducting campaigns to illicitly extract Claude's capabilities. The Trump administration plans countermeasures including information sharing with US AI companies, improved coordination, and accountability measures for foreign actors. The accusations come as the US and China remain locked in a race to build the most sophisticated AI technology, with AI becoming a major flashpoint in trade tensions between the two nations.

Chinese Industrial-Scale AI Model Theft Campaign

▪Anthropic identified industrial-scale campaigns by DeepSeek and two other AI labs to illicitly extract Claude's capabilities to improve their own models.
▪DeepSeek has been at the center of accusations regarding AI model distillation campaigns.
▪The Chinese AI model theft campaigns use complex tools to expose proprietary information from US AI companies.
▪Michael Kratsios is the White House director of the office of science and technology policy.
▪Michael Kratsios issued a memo on Thursday regarding Chinese AI model theft campaigns.
▪The Chinese AI model theft campaigns use tens of thousands of surrogate accounts to go undetected.
▪DeepSeek is a Chinese AI startup that rattled Wall Street last year.
▪Foreign entities primarily based in China have conducted industrial-scale campaigns to steal frontier AI models from US companies.
▪OpenAI warned lawmakers in February that DeepSeek has been attempting to replicate the performance of ChatGPT maker's models through distillation.

Distillation Technique and Security Concerns

▪Distillation is a technique used to transfer knowledge from a large AI model to a smaller one that can run more cheaply.
▪Anthropic published a blog post in February about distillation campaigns and security concerns.

Trump Administration's Response and AI Leadership Strategy

▪Donald Trump has exerted controls over sales of AI chips to China.
▪The Trump administration plans to explore measures to hold foreign actors accountable for industrial-scale distillation campaigns.
▪Donald Trump has pushed for federal AI regulation rather than state-level rules in an attempt to expedite innovation.
▪The Trump administration plans to work with the private sector to develop best practices for finding and defending against industrial-scale distillation activities.
▪The Trump administration plans to improve coordination between private companies in response to AI model theft campaigns.
▪The Trump administration plans to share information with US AI companies about attempts to conduct unauthorized industrial-scale distillation.

Perspective of Trump administration

▪The Trump administration views cementing the US as a leader in the AI race as a cornerstone of Trump's second term.
▪The Trump administration plans to share information with US AI companies about attempts to conduct unauthorized industrial-scale distillation.
▪The Trump administration characterizes China-based entities' AI model copying as industrial-scale theft campaigns.