China Is Getting More Anxious About Mythos Before Trump Meets Xi
Bloomberg News
Tue, August 4, 2026 at 4:30 AM GMT+5:30
6 min read
(Bloomberg) — China is growing anxious that Anthropic PBC’s Mythos could be wielded against the world’s second-biggest economy, adding a volatile new issue to already heightened tensions before a planned summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump
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Officials in Beijing are concerned about the cyber capabilities of Mythos and other AI frontier models developed by US companies, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters. They see the potential for models like Mythos to be used as an offensive weapon, and question why Anthropic is denying China access to the systems for normal purposes, the people said
China wants to preserve a relatively warm atmosphere before Xi’s planned Sept. 24 visit to the US and is seeking a “win-win” approach at AI talks expected before the leaders meet, the people said. Even so, suspicion remains high between the governments, with the US expressing concern that Chinese companies are using American frontier models to train their own versions
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month floated unspecified sanctions if model developers are found to have stolen intellectual property after Beijing-based Moonshot AI released a system said to rival some of the best American models. China’s Commerce Ministry, which oversees export controls, warned last week that it would take “all necessary measures” in response to the US threats
The people familiar with the matter said Beijing isn’t preparing any immediate action against Anthropic or other US AI developers, but officials are drawing up potential responses should the US take measures against Chinese companies in the sector. China’s options could include imposing sanctions or adding American AI companies to one of the nation’s restricted-entity lists, those people said
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred questions to the relevant authorities. The Ministry of Commerce didn’t respond to a faxed request for comment
Trump has signaled that his administration is weighing additional controls on AI while remaining wary of measures that could weaken US companies against Chinese competitors. “We have to be careful in both ways,” he told reporters in the Oval Office last Wednesday. “We don’t want to restrict them where all of a sudden, we come in second to China.”
