Falling behind is ‘biggest security risk’ in AI, Chinese political adviser says

CPPCC members caution against overregulation of the emerging technology ahead of annual political gathering

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Artificial intelligence technology is expected to be a key topic at this year’s “two sessions” political meetings in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

Sylvie Zhuangin BeijingandWilliam Zhengin Hong Kong

Published: 10:00am, 4 Mar 2025Updated: 10:18am, 4 Mar 2025

Political advisers in Beijing have cautioned against overregulation of artificial intelligence companies amid a growing debate about the emerging technology as the nation embraces the new Chinese chatbot DeepSeek.

Members of China’s top political advisory body – the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – made the remarks ahead of the country’s annual parliamentary meetings that begin on Tuesday.

CPPCC member Zhou Hongyi, co-founder and chairman of internet security firm Qihoo 360, told state-owned China News Service on Sunday that the biggest risk related to artificial intelligence technology was falling behind in the AI race.

“We should neither exaggerate nor ignore security issues related to AI,” Zhou said. “Some leading AI companies in the US exaggerate the security issues of AI as an excuse for not having open-sourced products as they seek a monopoly, so the latecomers cannot catch up.”

Zhou said China must “correctly understand” the security issues of AI.

“Falling behind in [AI] development is the biggest security risk,” he said. “We must seize this opportunity of AI to improve productivity and let everyone benefit from the fruits of the inclusiveness of science and technology”.