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LONDON — Rishi Sunak’s government suggested it would not rescind a possible Chinese invite to the U.K.’s AI Safety Summit despite pressure to do so after police arrested a parliamentary aide on suspicion of spying for Beijing.
Influential backbench MP Iain Duncan Smith had called on the government to ban China from its AI Safety Summit after the Sunday Times revealed that a parliamentary researcher with links to senior Conservatives had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
The U.K. government has not confirmed China’s invite to the November summit, but talking to reporters on Monday, a No. 10 Downing Street spokesperson batted away calls to cut Beijing out. “AI knows no borders,” the spokesperson said.
POLITICO previously reported that a Chinese presence is likely at the summit, despite pushback from key allies.
The No. 10 spokesperson on Monday declined to say which countries would attend the summit, but emphasized the need for the U.K. to engage with China on issues including AI.
“We do need to be in the room arguing the case for for the U.K., with China on issues like climate change, on issues like artificial intelligence, and that’s why it’s important we are making them face-to-face,” the spokesperson said.
