[Three U.S. Agencies Accuse Chinese Companies of Distilling U.S. Models; Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Do Not Make Groundless Accusations and Smear China] Golden Finance reported that on September 9, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning hosted a regular press conference. A reporter from Agence France-Presse asked: Yesterday, three U.S. agencies, including the National Security Agency, issued a joint statement accusing six Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) companies of unauthorized distillation of U.S. models to extract proprietary knowledge, claiming that this action would steal U.S. AI strategies. What is China's response to this? Mao Ning stated: I have not seen the specific report, but I can tell you that the development of China's artificial intelligence is the result of high-level technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, and it also benefits from our consistent adherence to the principles of consultation, joint construction, sharing, and open cooperation. We have always believed that all parties should strengthen cooperation to promote the open, inclusive, beneficial, and ethical development of artificial intelligence, serving the well-being of all humanity. "We hope the U.S. side will earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and refrain from making groundless accusations and smearing China. Both China and the U.S. are major AI powers and should strengthen cooperation," Mao Ning said. (Beijing Daily)