Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun delivers remarks on the second day of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo)
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun called for international cooperation in AI, outer space and the deep sea on Sept. 16, urging countries to oppose exclusive blocs that heighten tensions.
Addressing the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, Dong said multilateralism was essential to global stability and warned against a “zero-sum mindset.”
“For global security governance, action is the key and outcomes the ultimate measure,” he said.
Dong urged major powers to shoulder their responsibilities and said narrowing development gaps was central to improving security.
In separate remarks in Washington on Sept. 15, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended efforts to preserve the United States’ technological advantage over China while addressing AI risks.
“We are solving for both innovation and safety,” he told the House Financial Services Committee during its annual hearing on the international financial system.
Bessent backed the development of more U.S. open-source and open AI models, arguing that wider availability could make Chinese alternatives less attractive to users.
“We can’t let these large labs have regulatory capture, because that will stop innovation,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of restricting other countries’ access to advanced chips, citing the U.S. lead in the technology underpinning AI.
Bessent accused Chinese developers of using U.S. models to improve their own systems, describing the practice as theft.
