Voice of America Chinese Radio Broadcast (September 15, 2026)
This episode of Voice of America Chinese broadcast covers Trump's statements on artificial intelligence and Russia-Ukraine energy targets, developments in US-Iran relations, the New Delhi Declaration of the 18th BRICS summit, Pentagon officials attending the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, Iran's capture of a US-made unmanned underwater vehicle, an Anthropic report accusing Chinese companies and the government of model data extraction and overseas monitoring, an academic network's call for the release of US-Myanmar scholar Min Htin, and the head of Britain's MI5 warning of strategic security threats posed by China.
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Hello everyone, listeners and friends. Welcome to Voice of America's Chinese broadcast. I am Xu Xiangyun reporting to you from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The main stories on today's program include: President Trump reaffirming the necessity for the United States to be the world leader in artificial intelligence while downplaying concerns over the rapid development of the field; Donald Trump stating that the Pentagon has confirmed that a senior official from the US Department of War responsible for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia affairs will attend the Xiangshan Forum opening in Beijing on September 15; and the 18th BRICS summit releasing the New Delhi Declaration, calling for maximum restraint in the Middle East and avoiding actions that could worsen the situation.
US President Donald Trump reiterated the necessity for the United States to be the world leader in artificial intelligence, downplaying concerns over the rapid development of the field despite calls from AI industry leaders to slow down progress to ensure safety and security. Trump told reporters on Sunday that the United States is ahead of China in artificial intelligence and that he wants the United States to be the world leader, because whoever wins artificial intelligence wins it all. Trump said we can set up safety guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think there are a lot of negative voices that shouldn't be raising this question constantly bringing it up, and the things they are proposing simply won't happen. He added on Truth Social on Monday that we already have tremendous formal and regulatory power over these companies, and some people are running a morbid conspiracy about AI and data centers, with the only ones happy about this being China. Artificial intelligence will likely be one of the topics discussed when Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington later this month.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated at a Monday press conference that the development of artificial intelligence should be carried out in an open and inclusive manner. He said that spreading various threat narratives, engaging in confrontation and vicious competition will only disrupt the global AI governance process and is not in the interest of any party. The comments from US and Chinese officials followed an open letter published on Saturday by Dario Amodei, head of US AI giant Anthropic. Amodei said that if China takes the lead in AI development, it would pose a grave danger to the United States and the entire world, and he proposed a series of measures that he believes would both ensure US leadership in AI and help mitigate potential security risks. He called for banning the sale of high-performance AI chips and other equipment to China and strengthening the security of AI companies to prevent potential intellectual property theft. Amodei also said US AI companies should allow independent evaluators to access their systems to monitor potential security risks and coordinate with other democratic countries to promote safe AI development while maintaining an advantage over China's AI industry. Sam Altman, head of another AI company, OpenAI, welcomed Amodei's proposals, saying that slowing down development does not mean stopping AI progress, and avoiding costly negative outcomes is well worth it.
President Donald Trump said that both Ukraine and Russia have agreed to stop striking each other's energy targets. Trump wrote on Truth Social on September 14 that Ukraine has agreed not to strike Russian energy targets and Russia has agreed to do the same. The global rise in diesel prices is mainly caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, not Iran. Previously, Trump called on Ukraine on Sunday to halt attacks on Russian refineries, telling reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy must stop damaging Russia's diesel supply, adding that there are many other targets and these attacks are hurting the world. Ukraine stated that Russian refineries are legitimate military targets because the oil industry funds Moscow's war. Ukraine and Russia have not yet commented on Trump's Truth Social post on Monday. In recent weeks, both sides have stepped up attacks on each other's energy and economic infrastructure, and Russia has also begun attacking border crossings between Ukraine and its Western allies. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte criticized the drone attacks launched by Russia near the Ukraine-Poland border and stated that this would prompt NATO to increase its support for Kyiv. Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels on September 14, Rutte said these attacks near NATO territory show the desperation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his desire to spread fear and terror.
US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that Iranian leaders want to reach a deal with the United States and that the US is open to it. President Trump posted on Truth Social that a struggling Iran is eager to make a deal, and as for whether the US chooses to intervene, I will decide, though we are open to the idea. In another Truth Social post, President Trump noted that energy supplies are still moving through the Strait of Hormuz, while stating that countries dependent on Gulf oil should pay the United States to compensate for the efforts made by the US military to guide and assist merchant ships passing through the waterway. President Trump said oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, and after this sham conflict ends, countries around the world that have never provided us with any help should and will compensate the US financially; we do this more for others than for ourselves, and this has been going on for generations. The United States and Iran have accused each other of violating the interim agreement signed on June 18 under the mediation of Pakistan and Qatar. President Trump announced the end of the ceasefire with Iran on July 7 after the Iranian military attacked three ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiations have stalled since then. Just days after the attacks, the US resumed a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Meanwhile, Tehran rejected negotiations over its nuclear program, turning instead to talks with Oman regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz. Qatar, one of the mediators, called on the US and Iran last month to return to the previously signed memorandum of understanding and seek an agreement on the strait, with Doha stating this would allow us to return to the negotiating framework.
The two-day BRICS summit in New Delhi concluded on September 13, with host nation India demonstrating its coordination and diplomatic skills, not only producing a summit declaration acceptable to the warring parties in the Middle East, but also maintaining the BRICS positioning as non-Western rather than anti-Western. The 18th BRICS summit issued the New Delhi Declaration, calling for maximum restraint in the Middle East and avoiding actions that could worsen the situation. The Middle East war was undoubtedly the most watched issue at this BRICS leaders' summit, and internal divisions within the expanded BRICS group followed. The smooth release of the New Delhi Declaration was seen by analysts as a major diplomatic achievement for India. Iran, which became a BRICS member in 2024, along with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, stand on opposite sides in this Middle East war. Zheng Jiapin, associate professor at Shiv Nadar University in India, told VOA that given the grim global situation, India's ability to bring these countries together on one platform is an achievement in itself. Fang Tianci, director of the Center for Indian Studies at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, told VOA that India has essentially accomplished this task. The BRICS countries include Iran, China, and Russia, which carry strong anti-US sentiments, as well as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which are relatively close to the United States. Lin Xiaozhen, assistant professor at the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategy at Tamkang University, stated in written comments to VOA that although China holds the largest
its structural influence still cannot unilaterally determine the group's direction. The New Delhi Declaration expressed concern over the tense situation in the Middle East with relatively neutral wording while condemning attacks on civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities. Although the declaration is seen as an indirect criticism of the US and Israel, leaving room for all parties without spelling things out serves as a signal of goodwill toward US President Donald Trump.
The Pentagon confirmed to Voice of America that Michael Chase, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, will represent the Department of Defense at the Xiangshan Forum opening in Beijing on Tuesday. A defense official told VOA via email on Monday that we can confirm that Michael Chase, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, will represent the Department of Defense at this year's Xiangshan Forum. The Pentagon did not specify whether Chase plans to hold bilateral talks with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun or other officials of the People's Liberation Army. Reuters previously reported, citing a US official, that Chase is expected to lead the US delegation to the forum, and his attendance level is higher than last year when the US sent a defense attaché from the US Embassy in China to participate. The 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum is scheduled to be held from September 15 to 17 under the theme of building consensus for stability and jointly promoting security governance. The Chinese Ministry of Defense stated that this forum will discuss issues such as international order and strategic stability, Asia-Pacific security risks, maritime lane security, military applications of emerging technologies, and space security governance. Spokesperson Jiang Bing stated on September 14 that the forum features official delegations, experts, and scholars from nearly 100 countries, regions, and international organizations. Dong Jun is expected to deliver a speech at the opening ceremony. This meeting is held shortly after US Indo-Pacific Command Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo is scheduled to hold his first face-to-face meeting with General Yang Zhibin, commander of the PLA Eastern Theater Command responsible for operations in the Taiwan Strait direction.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced last week that it had captured an American unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz. US media reported that this vehicle matches the unmanned underwater vehicle produced by the US company Anduril. The US military uses this vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz to perform unmanned maritime surveillance, seabed mapping, and anti-mine warfare, and Taiwan also uses it to inspect submarine cables and protect underwater security. There are outside concerns that Iran will obtain data from this vehicle, but experts said the technology Iran can obtain from this captured malfunctioning vehicle and share with China and Russia is limited. The US military uses Anduril's Dive-LD unmanned underwater vehicle to perform unmanned maritime surveillance, seabed mapping, and anti-mine warfare in the Strait of Hormuz, and this vehicle is also used in waters surrounding Taiwan. According to Taiwan media reports, Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology received Anduril's Dive-LD unmanned underwater vehicle system in August this year and first applied it to submarine cable inspection capabilities to prevent deliberate sabotage. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on September 8 that it had captured an American unmanned underwater vehicle at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz and released images of the vehicle, which, upon comparison, matches Anduril's Dive-LD unmanned underwater vehicle. US Central Command stated that this unmanned underwater vehicle had malfunctioned more than a day before it was discovered by Iran, and as an older model, it neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment. Professor Kevin Rowlands, editor at the Royal United Services Institute in Britain, said in an interview with Reuters that unmanned underwater vehicle manufacturers and the US side should have already established relevant protocols to ensure that once the equipment falls into enemy hands, the most critical technology cannot be used. For Iran at the present stage, the hardware might be more valuable, and the engineering technology used in these systems exceeds Iran's current capabilities. While Iran indeed possesses a large number of drones, has provided drones to Russia for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and is adept at using unmanned systems, in terms of propulsion, guidance, maneuverability, depth control, and specific communication technology, Iran's technical level may not be as advanced as the US system. Therefore, through reverse engineering, they might gain a deep understanding of the US technical path and begin to imitate it. If Iran chooses to share these technologies with Russia or China—and we know such relationships do exist—neither the US nor the rest of us will likely be able to prevent this technology spillage to regions outside Iran. According to Anduril, the Dive-LD is a large-diameter autonomous underwater vehicle measuring 5.8 meters long and 1.2 meters in diameter, capable of autonomously executing missions lasting up to 10 days with a maximum diving depth of up to 6,000 meters. Its shell utilizes 3D printing technology to achieve a high degree of customization, and it adopts innovative manufacturing processes for internal core structural components and buoyancy systems to allow custom modifications for adapting to different types of payloads and sensors, applicable for defense or commercial operations. Anduril also provides enterprise leasing options. Whether in the short or long term, I do not believe this will cause a major impact; in any conflict, we should expect system losses, destruction, or capture, and we simply need to accept this as part of conventional warfare and handle it calmly. According to reviews by Defense News and Taiwan media reports, Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology cooperated with Anduril to carry out adaptive and customized modifications on the Dive-LD according to Taiwan's needs, integrating multi-frequency scanning capabilities to detect mines and submarines, making it a highly customized unmanned underwater vehicle.
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US artificial intelligence company Anthropic stated that over the past eight months, it has blocked model capability extraction operations associated with seven Chinese artificial intelligence laboratories, including operations attributed to Alibaba operators initiating over 151 million interactions with Claude within three months. In its latest artificial intelligence threat intelligence report released on September 10, Anthropic stated it found that operators associated with Chinese enterprises such as Alibaba, Moonshot AI, DeepSeek, and Xiaomi attempted to massively acquire answers, reasoning processes, and other capabilities generated by Claude, and used these data to train their own models. Anthropic blocked operations related to seven Chinese artificial intelligence laboratories in total during the 8-month period covered by the report. Speaking about activities related to China, Anthropic's report stated that operators associated with Alibaba carried out the largest illegal distillation operation discovered by the company during this period. According to Anthropic's statistics, from May to July this year, over 3,500 fake accounts related to Alibaba initiated more than 151 million interactions with Claude, approaching nearly 3 million daily at peak times. Anthropic alleged that the operators requested Claude to display detailed problem-solving reasoning processes and used the obtained outputs to train and improve Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen series models. This figure is much higher than the scale previously announced by Anthropic. In June, a policy director at the company stated in a letter to US lawmakers that Alibaba-related operators conducted approximately 28.8 million unauthorized interactions with Claude from April 22 to June 5. Anthropic also alleged that Moonshot AI and DeepSeek adopted a method that may trigger data privacy concerns by forwarding real-time dialogues between users and their own chat bots to Claude, having Claude generate responses, and then utilizing these outputs to train their company's models. According to Anthropic, some content submitted by users may contain sensitive information, and the relevant users may not know that the questions they input into Chinese artificial intelligence products were sent to an American company's model for processing. Anthropic stated that Moonshot AI-related systems forwarded approximately 23 million user requests to Claude, while DeepSeek-related systems forwarded about 12.1 million requests, with these two activities totaling over 35 million. If this accusation is true, the risks will involve not only the intellectual property rights and commercial competitive advantages of American artificial intelligence models, but also whether user data was handed over to overseas third parties without sufficient notification or consent. Anthropic's report also expanded China-related risks to state-sponsored surveillance activities, stating that the company discovered multiple account groups associated with the Chinese government using Claude to assist in collecting, organizing, and analyzing information on overseas individuals and groups. One operation attributed by Anthropic to China-related actors focused on collecting data on Uighurs located in Syria, paying particular attention to Uighurs who joined the newly established Syrian army or were related to local armed organizations. Another group of accounts assessed by Anthropic as being associated with the Chinese government used Claude to build personal profiles of Asian religious leaders and members of religious groups. Targets listed in the report included multiple senior Catholic bishops in Asia, leaders of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, civil society members of Tibetan Buddhism, and personnel related to the Tibetan exiled administrative system. The report also claimed that other related accounts utilized Claude to collect information on overseas dissidents and overseas Chinese communities. However, these accusations stem from Anthropic based on account activity
, the report derived from network infrastructure and usage patterns did not disclose the true identities of the relevant accounts nor specify which Chinese government department they are affiliated with. The focus of the current controversy is whether certain enterprises use false accounts, third-party interfaces, and proxy services to circumvent geographic and access restrictions, acquire proprietary model outputs on a large scale, and violate terms of service to use them for training competing products.
On September 9, Scholars at Risk, an organization that monitors academic freedom and protects scholars globally, published an open letter on its official website addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping, urging the Chinese government to immediately release Minit Min, a detained American scholar of Burmese descent. Robert Quinn, executive director of Scholars at Risk, wrote in the email that he was writing on behalf of the organization to express concern over the situation of U.S. citizen and political scholar Minit Min. He stated that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has determined that Minit Min is wrongfully detained in China and her current whereabouts are unknown. Scholars at Risk urged the Chinese authorities to ensure her immediate and unconditional release. The email stated that on June 3, Minit Min arrived at Kunming Changshui International Airport in Yunnan with a valid visa to attend an academic seminar, at which point she was detained. After losing contact with the outside world for more than a week, Chinese authorities publicly accused her of suspected espionage activities and endangering national security, without disclosing reliable evidence to support the charge. Citing public reports, the email noted that since her detention, U.S. diplomatic personnel have obtained only very limited consular access, while her husband Sylvia and teenage daughter Su—both also U.S. citizens—have been unable to speak with her. Minit Min has been kept in solitary confinement at an undisclosed location under residential surveillance at a designated location. The email pointed out that existing indications suggest Minit Min was detained for peacefully exercising her rights to academic freedom and freedom of expression, rights explicitly protected by international human rights instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The email stated that the manner of Minit Min's arrest, her unknown whereabouts, and her continued detention have raised serious concerns about whether due process is being implemented and regarding her future well-being and safety. The email emphasized that scholars are deeply concerned not only about Minit Min's own situation but also about the signal her detention sends to American scholars of China. The email stated that scholars firmly believe Minit Min and all scholars—including those at her institution, the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies—should be able to conduct research without the threat of intimidation or arbitrary detention. The email concluded by calling on China to immediately and unconditionally release Minit Min and thanking President Xi Jinping for his attention to this important matter. Copies of the email were also sent to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Xie Feng, U.S. Ambassador to China David Puderbaugh, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio, and four U.S. officials at the United Nations. This is the second time in two weeks that Scholars at Risk has spoken out publicly for Minit Min. On August 27, the organization released an open letter signed by more than 100 scholars and professors from the U.S. and other countries expressing grave concern over Minit Min being illegally detained by China while traveling for academic activities. Currently, 113 scholars have signed the open letter to express their support. September 9 is Minit Min's birthday. Minit Min's younger brother, Aung Myo Hein, said in an exclusive interview with Voice of America on August 24, "We really hope my brother can gain his freedom before his birthday." On September 8, the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies, founded by Minit Min, published a commentary on its official website titled "A Birthday Without Him," revealing that whenever Minit Min's birthday arrives, she usually reflects on her life journey and posts her thoughts on social media to share her deep inner reflections.
Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5, wrote an article on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, warning that alongside the risk of large-scale terrorist attacks, the UK also faces strategic security threats posed by powerful nation-states. Just recently in July, newly appointed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham held his first telephone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Although McCallum's article published in The Independent did not name any specific country, his previous definition of the China threat and the UK's first trial of a China-related espionage case this year have placed the new government's balancing act between economic engagement with China and national security under scrutiny. According to Downing Street, Burnham discussed pragmatic cooperation to promote economic growth during his call with Xi Jinping, while also raising issues of domestic security, Hong Kong, and human rights. In his October 2025 annual threat report, McCallum stated that over the past year, MI5 had increased by 35% the number of investigations into individuals suspected of participating in state-threat activities. The China-related activities he listed included cyberespionage, covert technology transfer, clandestine interference in public life, and the harassment and intimidation of dissidents. At the same time, he argued that the UK should resist threats while also seizing cooperation opportunities that serve the national interest. In June of this year, Five Eyes security agencies jointly warned that Chinese military intelligence agencies are using professional networking and recruitment sites to approach civil servants, military personnel, journalists, and think tank personnel who have access to sensitive information. However, MI5 did not disclose the proportion of China-related cases nor the personnel and budget allocated to work concerning China. Sam Dunning, director of the China-UK Transparency Project, told Voice of America that if the threat is rising as claimed, the question is whether resources are also increasing and whether existing resources are sufficient. Pro-democracy activist and current UK resident Nathan Law, who is wanted with a bounty by Hong Kong police, said the deepest impact of transnational repression lies in the chilling effect created by suspected surveillance, online harassment, and pressure applied to relatives in Hong Kong. He said a foreign government does not need to successfully monitor everyone; as long as enough people believe they might be monitored and intimidated, part of the objective has been achieved. He believes the central government's awareness of the threat has not yet translated into consistent and effective support for victims by local police. Ben Keith, a barrister who has frequently represented Hong Kong and Chinese dissidents in asylum and Interpol Red Notice cases, told Voice of America that based on the cases he has handled, China-related operations simultaneously deploy internet technology, human intelligence, and diplomatic resources. He said they are willing to invest substantial resources to track individuals who do not actually pose a significant threat; in other words, the objective is often not to steal secrets, but to monitor and suppress those who might embarrass Beijing.