The United States strikes a blow to China's AI ambitions

The US Commerce Department added them to a trade blacklist this week, saying the companies had been implicated in human rights violations against Uyghurs and other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. Twenty government and security bureaus in China's Xinjiang region were also included in the ban. Chinese authorities dismissed the human rights allegations, and threatened retaliation against US companies. "The US accusations against China are groundless and senseless. They only expose the evil motives of the United States to interfere with counterterrorism efforts in Xinjiang and thwart China's development," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday, telling reporters to "stay tuned" for retaliation.