Alibaba to Ban Claude Code as US-China AI Rivalry Escalates
Alibaba is expected to prohibit all its employees from using Claude Code, the popular AI programming tool developed by Anthropic, starting July 10. The Chinese tech giant has officially classified the tool as "high-risk" software. In response, Alibaba staffers have been instructed to transition to the company’s internal AI coding tool, Qoder.
A Strained Relationship
The move occurs within the context of a wider AI arms race between the US and China. Anthropic has already implemented a ban preventing Chinese companies—and foreign entities owned by those companies—from accessing its AI models and tools. Despite these restrictions, reports indicated that loopholes allowed China-based users to continue accessing Claude.
In an attempt to address these unauthorized access points, Anthropic reportedly launched an experiment in March involving a version of Claude embedded with spyware. The goal was to track user locations and identify affiliations with Chinese companies. However, Anthropic has since backtracked on these efforts. Thariq Shihipar, representing Anthropic, clarified that the measure was meant to prevent account abuse and protect against distillation, noting that the team has since implemented "stronger mitigations".
The Competitive AI Landscape
As US-China AI competition intensifies, Chinese firms are increasingly launching low-cost, high-performance models that challenge Western offerings. For example, a Beijing-based startup, Z.ai, recently launched a model called GLM-5.2. This model has reportedly generated significant interest in Silicon Valley due to its coding and agent capabilities, which experts suggest rival top US-based models at a fraction of the cost.