The US State Department has ordered a global diplomatic push to address concerns over alleged intellectual property theft by Chinese companies, particularly the AI startup DeepSeek. A diplomatic cable, dated Friday, instructs US diplomats to discuss these concerns with foreign counterparts, emphasizing the unauthorized extraction of US artificial intelligence models. The cable highlights that DeepSeek has been targeting leading US AI firms, including OpenAI, to replicate models for its own use. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has dismissed these allegations as baseless, asserting that they are attacks on China's AI development. DeepSeek recently launched a new AI model, V4, adapted for Huawei chip technology, showcasing China's advancements in AI. The cable warns that models derived from unauthorized distillation may perform comparably to original systems but lack full performance and security protocols. This escalation in accusations comes just weeks before a scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, potentially heightening tensions in the ongoing tech rivalry between the two nations.