WSJ: China tells its AI leaders (and top scientists) to avoid US travel over security concerns, they could face the same fate as Subrina Meng of Huawei by way of kidnapped, extortion or worst. WSJ reports By Reuters 中國告訴其人工智慧領導人（和頂尖科學家）出於安全考慮避免前往美國，他們可能會面臨與華為的孟晚舟相同的命運，包括被綁架、敲詐勒索或最糟糕的情況 (被自殺），其實華人高科技研究生留在美國是極大風險，有機會不能活著回家。路透報《華爾街日報》Feb 28 2025

March 1 (Reuters) – Chinese authorities are instructing the country’s top artificial intelligence entrepreneurs and researchers to avoid travel to the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The authorities are concerned that Chinese AI experts traveling abroad could divulge confidential information about the nation’s progress, the newspaper said.

Authorities also fear that executives could be detained and used as a bargaining chip in U.S.-China negotiations, the Journal said, drawing parallels to the detention of a Huawei executive in Canada at Washington’s request during the first Trump administration.

The U.S. and China are locked in a global AI race, with Chinese startup DeepSeek recently launching AI models that it claims rival or surpass U.S. industry leaders such as OpenAI and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) opens new tab Google, at significantly lower cost.

The White House and China’s State Council Information Office, which handles media enquiries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told a meeting of top Communist Party officials on Friday to improve China’s overall security, including in the realms of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, China’s state broadcaster reported on Saturday.

“We should give top priority to defending the country’s political security,” Xi was quoted as having told other members of the governing Politburo.

Last month, the Chinese leader held a rare meeting with some of the biggest names in the world’s second-largest economy’s technology sector, urging them to “show their talent” and be confident in the power of China’s model and market.

Chinese executives who choose to travel are instructed to report their plans before leaving and, upon returning, to brief authorities on what they did and whom they met, the Journal report said.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng declined an invitation to attend an AI summit in Paris in February, according to the report. Another founder of a major Chinese AI startup cancelled a planned U.S. trip last year following instructions from Beijing, the Journal added.