Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning

China expresses serious concern over the UK's use of speculative language to smear China without evidence, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, calling the relevant UK authorities' claims of a cyber threat posed by China's artificial intelligence (AI) counterproductive to China-UK mutual trust and harmful to the UK's credibility in global AI cooperation.

At a regular press briefing in Beijing, Mao Ning, the spokesperson, was asked to comment on reports that the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, part of the Government Communications Headquarters, had claimed that China, as a major power in AI, is "highly likely" to frequently use AI to carry out hacking operations by 2028 and poses the "most sophisticated and sustained cyber challenge facing the UK." 

Noting that the Chinese side has noticed relevant reports, Mao said that regrettably, the UK has long politicized cybersecurity issues and is now pouring the "new wine" of suppressing China's AI development into the "old bottle" of "cyberattacks." 

"Such erroneous practice will not help enhance mutual trust between China and the UK, and will also damage the UK's credibility in global cooperation on AI safety governance," Mao said. 

Cybersecurity risks arising from AI are a common challenge facing all countries, and new international rules should be formulated under the framework of the United Nations to address these challenges collectively, Mao said.

China has consistently maintained that AI development should be guided by the principles of pursuing progress, promoting good, openness and inclusiveness, while balancing security and development to ensure that AI remains safe, reliable and controllable, Mao said.

Global Times