DeepSeek Aids China's Military And Evaded Export Controls, U.S. Official Says

AI firm DeepSeek is aiding China’s military and intelligence operations, a senior U.S. official told Reuters, adding that the Chinese tech startup has attempted to bypass export controls by using shell companies in Southeast Asia to acquire high-end semiconductors restricted under U.S. law, reported Michael Martina, Fanny Potkin, and Stephen Nellis.

This marks the first time the U.S. government’s assessment of DeepSeek’s ties to Beijing has been publicly reported. I Photo: Tim Reckmann Flickr

Hangzhou-based DeepSeek made global headlines in January by claiming its AI reasoning models rival or surpass leading U.S. models at a fraction of the cost.

“We understand that DeepSeek has willingly provided—and will likely continue to provide—support to China’s military and intelligence operations,” the State Department official said, speaking anonymously.

“This effort goes above and beyond open-source access to DeepSeek’s AI models,” the official added.

This marks the first time the U.S. government’s assessment of DeepSeek’s ties to Beijing has been publicly reported. It comes amid intensifying U.S.-China tensions over technology and trade.

Among the allegations, the official said DeepSeek shares user data and system metrics with China’s surveillance network.

While Chinese law mandates that domestic companies must provide data upon government request, the claim that DeepSeek is already doing so could raise alarm among its tens of millions of global users.

U.S. lawmakers have previously warned that DeepSeek’s privacy disclosures suggest it transmits American users’ data to China through backend infrastructure linked to China Mobile, a Chinese state-owned telecommunications giant.