The Chinese leaders expressed on Tuesday a “firm opposition” to the sanctions decided by the US government on five Chinese companies linked to a former Google engineer accused of theft of intellectual property.
© Cheng Xin/Getty Images
21/10/2026
by
Lusa
Ochinese leaders expressed on Tuesday a “firm opposition” to the sanctions decided by the US government on five Chinese companies linked to a former Google engineer accused of intellectual property theft.
The decision severely undermines the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, the Trade Minister said, in a statement.
The minister called on the US to “correct this wrong practice” and ensured that the country would take “the necessary measures” without specifying.
The Chinese complaint occurred one day after the State Department imposed sanctions on five Chinese companies linked to Linwei Ding, founder of Shanghai Zhisuan Technology. The Department argued that he praised his experience with Google and proclaimed that his company could replicate the technology infrastructure of U.S. artificial intelligence (IA).
Ding fi accused in 2024 of stealing business secrets from Google's AI while working in secret with two companies based in China. In January he was convicted by a federal jury in San Francisco for economic espionage and theft of trade secrets.
Later, a judge dismissed the charges of economic espionage and sentenced him to 12 months in prison. The Department of Justice has appealed to dismiss the charges of economic espionage.
The Chinese minister assured that the development of the AI in China is “the result of the long-term promotion of basic research, a continuous investment in innovation, adherence to independent scientific and technological innovation and open cooperation”.
China’s successes “have nothing to do with the so-called ‘steal of trade secrets’,” he added.