US bans Deepseek from government systems, China protests and blocks foreign AI at home

The US Department of Homeland Security ordered civilian federal agencies to remove Deepseek products, extending the ban to software built on its open-source models. China's Foreign Ministry and Commerce Ministry have strongly protested, accusing the US of stretching national security concepts and vowing countermeasures. Beijing walls off foreign AI services like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini more strictly than the US ban, requiring AI services to comply with political guidelines since 2023. The dispute highlights how both sides invoke national security to protect their AI markets and technology.