At a regular press conference on 4 November, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning pushed back on the UK NCSC's annual report, which called China a leading developer of AI-cyber capability likely to use it routinely by 2028, voicing 'grave concern over the wanton speculative accusation brought by the UK despite the absence of evidence'. She said Britain had politicised cybersecurity and was using it as a pretext to curb China's AI development, and argued that AI-driven cyber risks are a global challenge requiring new rules formulated at the UN.
'Politicisation' and the contest over norm-making
Mao said Britain had long politicised cybersecurity and that the charge was a pretext to curb China's AI development. Such action, she said, does not help mutual trust between China and the UK and undermines Britain's credibility in cooperation on global AI-security governance. AI's development, she added, should be open and for the benefit of all, balance security and advancement, and be safe, reliable and controllable.
Beijing places this in a norm-making frame. State media cited the July 2025 Global AI Governance Action Plan and the July 2026 agreement signed in Shanghai by 29 countries to establish a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation, stressing a UN-centred framework, and the spokesperson cast the British report as a systematic publicity campaign lacking concrete evidence.
Competing claims, London and Beijing
As covered in the previous edition, the NCSC judged it 'highly likely' that AI-embedded malware would be used in ransomware attacks on UK critical infrastructure by 2028 and called China the most sophisticated and sustained cyber challenge it faces. London asserts China has both the capability and the intent; Beijing rejects this outright, citing the absence of evidence. With neither side's claims independently verified, the merits rest in the dispute between the parties.
At the same briefing, Mao called the US midterm elections a domestic American affair and said China was ready to build strategic stability with the US. Read alongside the pushback at Britain, it shows a moment in which exchanges of cyber and AI accusations connect to both the management of major-power relations and the making of norms, so the rebuttal reads as part of a contest over who leads AI-cyber rule-making rather than a reply to one report alone.
Sources
Primary sources
- 1
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on November 4, 2026
Source checked 6 Nov 2026
中国外交部 · External site
Reporting
- 2
China expresses 'serious concern' over UK's unfounded 'cyber challenge' claims regarding Chinese AI
Source checked 6 Nov 2026
Global Times · External site
Previous report: UK NCSC annual review rates AI-enabled ransomware against critical infrastructure 'highly likely' by 2028; 80 nationally significant incidents
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AI & Security Observatory（2026-11-04）「中国外交部、英NCSCのAIサイバー警告に「重大な懸念」 証拠なき臆測と反発し技術抑止と批判」『AI & Security Observatory』、第1.0版、最終更新2026-11-06。https://ai-security-observatory.org/ja/brief/brief-20261106-04/
AI & Security Observatory (2026-11-04). China voices 'grave concern' at the UK NCSC's AI-cyber warning, calling it evidence-free and aimed at curbing its AI . AI & Security Observatory, version 1.0. Updated 2026-11-06. https://ai-security-observatory.org/en/brief/brief-20261106-04/
Version 1.0 · Publication date 4 Nov 2026 · Updated 6 Nov 2026
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