WASHINGTON (AP) — Beijing expressed “strong opposition” Tuesday to the Trump administration’s sanctions against five Chinese companies linked to a former Google engineer accused of intellectual property theft.
The move “seriously undermines the legitimate rights and interests” of Chinese companies, the country’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement. “The nature of this act is blatant. Chinese companies oppose it.”
The ministry also urged the United States to “correct its erroneous practice” and said Beijing would take “necessary measures,” without specifying them.
This comes a day after the US State Department imposed sanctions on five Chinese companies linked to Lin Wei Dingwho founded Shanghai Zhisuan Technology. The ministry said it touted its experience with Google and claimed his company could replicate the US tech giant’s super intelligence infrastructure technology.
The MiraclePlus startup incubation program, which was sanctioned with Zhisuan, provided seed capital in exchange for an ownership stake in Zhisuan, the State Department said. The other three Chinese entities facing sanctions are linked to MiraclePlus.
Zhisuan “knowingly engaged in, or benefited from, a significant theft of trade secrets of U.S. persons, which occurred on or after January 5, 2023,” the State Department said.
Ding was accused in 2024 of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets from Google while secretly working with two China-based companies. In January, he was convicted by a San Francisco federal jury of multiple counts of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets.
A judge later dismissed the economic espionage charges and sentenced him to 12 months in prison. Justice Department appeals dismissal of economic espionage charges.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said the development of AI is “the result of long-term development of basic research, continuous investment in innovation, as well as adhering to independent scientific and technological innovation and open cooperation.”
The country’s achievements have “nothing to do with the so-called ‘theft of trade secrets,'” the ministry said.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
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