The US Department of Homeland Security has directed federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products from their IT systems and stop purchasing them, prompting Beijing to threaten countermeasures.
The directive also encompasses third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek technology, extending its operational impact beyond software distributed directly under the Chinese company’s name.
DHS issued the order in late July, and the notice was made public Monday through the Federal Register.
Agencies must examine third-party AI dependencies
Federal civilian agencies covered by the directive must remove DeepSeek products already present in their environments. They are also prohibited from procuring DeepSeek products or services.
The inclusion of third-party technology is a significant compliance issue. Agencies may need to determine whether existing or proposed services incorporate DeepSeek models, even when DeepSeek is not the primary vendor. Companies selling AI-based products to the federal government could consequently face additional scrutiny over their underlying models and development dependencies.
DeepSeek’s open-source models remain broadly available, including in the United States, and are mostly free to use.
The Federal Register notice says DeepSeek models “present multiple threat vectors.” The government’s stated concerns include the location of DeepSeek servers in China and the possibility that Chinese authorities could gain access to private corporate infrastructure or sensitive US information. These are the US government’s reasons for the restriction, rather than evidence of a specific disclosed compromise.
DeepSeek did not immediately respond to the publication’s request for comment.
Beijing rejects the national-security rationale
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing on Tuesday that China would “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.” She also said the government opposes what it considers an excessive expansion of national-security concepts.
In a statement issued late Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition.” It characterized the restrictions as discriminatory measures imposed under national-security claims to suppress Chinese industry.
The ministry also argued that Washington had disregarded the consensus reached between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, as well as the wider state of bilateral economic and trade relations. It said China would monitor developments and take measures it considers necessary to protect its interests.
The statements signal a potential response from Beijing, but do not identify a specific retaliatory action.
AI access remains part of the wider US-China dispute
The DeepSeek order sits within a broader conflict over AI technology, data access and computing hardware. US-led controls continue to prevent China from obtaining some advanced AI chips and chipmaking equipment.
The United States has also alleged that Chinese AI startups, including DeepSeek, used large-scale model “distillation” to extract capabilities from frontier American systems. Beijing disputes that allegation, which has not been established in the reported material.
Separately, Beijing proposed restrictions last week on exports of certain advanced AI models. Despite these points of friction, the two governments have recently made some progress in AI governance discussions, including a US proposal for notifications about AI incidents involving national security.
George Chen, partner and chair of the digital practice at The Asia Group, said the warnings demonstrate “the depth of strategic distrust between Beijing and Washington,” even as Trump and Xi seek to keep their relationship “warm and constructive.”
AI is expected to feature when the two leaders meet in mid-November at the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China. They last met in September during Xi’s state visit to Washington. Until then, the immediate practical requirement for affected US agencies is to account for both direct DeepSeek deployments and less visible use of its technology inside third-party offerings.
