China has opposed a United States government ban on its agencies using artificial intelligence tools developed by Chinese startup DeepSeek.

Beijing, on Tuesday, described the move as an overreach of national security concerns, after the US Department of Homeland Security barred civilian government agencies from using DeepSeek products.

The US department said the tools could expose sensitive government data to China, citing the location of DeepSeek’s servers and the Chinese government’s powers to access private company infrastructure.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing opposed the use of national security concerns to politicise issues relating to science, technology and trade.

Mao made the remarks at a news conference, adding that China would protect the interests of its businesses.

The development comes amid growing rivalry between Washington and Beijing over dominance in the artificial intelligence industry, with both countries accusing each other’s firms of technology theft and posing security risks.

DeepSeek shook the AI industry in January 2025 after launching a low-cost, high-performance chatbot that challenged assumptions about US dominance in the sector.

The company released its V4 model in April and updated a faster, lighter version this month.

The United States has accused DeepSeek and other leading Chinese AI firms of systematically stealing capabilities from advanced models developed by American competitors.

Despite the rivalry, China and the United States agreed in September to establish a communication channel for addressing AI-related incidents.