A concept picture of AI city File photo: VCG

Some Western media outlets have often hyped an artificial intelligence (AI) showdown between the US and China these days, with some even peddling the so-called "China AI threat" narrative. Beneath such coverage lies the assumption that technological progress is set to become the latest front of power rivalry.

Yet it is never the advancement of technology itself that has dragged AI into geopolitical games, but the technological Cold War mentality held by certain groups in the US and some Western countries.

In recent years, some in Washington have pursued increasingly stringent export controls on high end AI chips and tightened access to advanced AI models, attempting to contain other countries' technological progress through high-tech blockades. A recent AXIOS report revealed that the US government is considering a move that could ban cutting-edge Chinese AI models.

Moreover, two members of the US Congress have introduced bipartisan legislation that would require developers of the country's most powerful AI systems to build in a "kill switch," allowing advanced AI models to be slowed, suspended or shut down if they pose a catastrophic risk, Aljazeera reported on Sunday.

While these moves are ostensibly justified under the banner of national security or AI safety, they clearly reflect a deep-seated Cold War mindset that views every technological advance outside its own borders as a threat.

The US resorts to administrative tools to contain potential competitors while simultaneously trying to promote American AI in the global marketplace. Yet, this approach does not reinforce its technological leadership; instead, it erodes the very foundation of trust on which that leadership depends. When access to frontier models can be cut off at will, the inevitable outcome is spreading strategic anxiety, even among its allies.

Even Washington's traditional allies have become vigilant toward the risks of being dependent on US technology. The EU's tech chief warned recently that AI has become a geopolitical weapon, pushing for Europe to develop alternatives to US models faster or risk being cut off from strategic capabilities, the Financial Times reported last week. The remarks signal that fears about the risks of relying on US technology are growing even within the Western bloc.

The irony is glaring. Some in the US may truly believe that they are maintaining technological dominance through blockades and restrictions, yet it is precisely these very restrictions that are forcing more countries and regions to get cautious and consider how to take control of their own AI paths. History has long proven that technological blockades can never deliver lasting technological leadership, and closed, exclusive practices only lead to isolation.

China opposes politicizing and instrumentalizing trade and tech issues. Such actions will only stifle global AI advances and serve no one's interests, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.

AI should not be owned by major countries, still less should it be dominated by contests and rivalry. Technology itself carries no geopolitical attributes; the development paths chosen by nations determine whether AI advances toward cooperation or confrontation.

While certain countries are busy building technological barriers and turning AI into a geopolitical bargaining chip, China has taken another path. China continues to provide high-performance open-source AI models to the world, offering low-cost and feasible solutions for countries worldwide, especially developing ones. This development model that transcends geopolitical confrontation has won growing recognition across the globe, paving a more inclusive, equitable and promising new path for the future of the global AI industry.