China’s top intelligence official has warned of rising national security risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI), calling for robust risk prevention frameworks and

stronger global governance

of the emerging technology.

The call from

Chen Yixin

, China’s state security minister, comes as Beijing seeks to play a leading role in global AI governance while criticising

US restrictions

. At the Brics summit in India over the weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed an

AI-powered initiative

to drive new industrialisation and deepen supply chain cooperation in the emerging economies bloc.

Chen underscored Beijing’s view of the technology as a key geopolitical battleground. AI has become “a new arena for strategic rivalry among major powers”, he wrote for China Cyberspace, a journal run by internet watchdog body the Cyberspace Administration of China.