China’s Campaign to Steal America’s AI Edge - Part I

The Select Committee hearing examines the critical national security challenge posed by China’s efforts to acquire advanced American artificial intelligence technology through both legal and illicit channels. Maintaining a decisive lead in AI is essential for U.S. military, economic, and technological dominance, yet China aggressively pursues this stack by smuggling high-end chips, utilizing industrial-scale distillation attacks to steal proprietary model outputs, and attempting to poison training data. Witnesses Dmitri Alperovitch, Yusuf Mahmood, and Dr. Kyle Chan emphasize that compute power—specifically access to cutting-edge semiconductors—remains the primary bottleneck in this race. To counter these threats, the panel advocates for stricter export controls, enhanced cybersecurity standards for AI labs, and a robust domestic strategy to secure the semiconductor supply chain, ensuring that American innovation remains protected from foreign espionage and strategic sabotage.