Chinese open-source artificial-intelligence models, including DeepSeek and Alibaba Group’s Qwen, are gaining worldwide users, expanding Beijing’s influence in cutting-edge software and unnerving officials and executives in Washington and Silicon Valley, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The free-to-use systems have narrowed the performance gap with Western rivals and lowered barriers for developers, prompting U.S. lawmakers and technology firms to reassess how quickly proprietary products could lose ground. The growing popularity of Chinese models comes as the White House changes tack on hardware controls. Earlier this week President Donald Trump approved an arrangement that allows Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices to resume shipments of certain AI accelerators—such as Nvidia’s H20—to Chinese customers, provided the companies remit 15 percent of related sales to the U.S. government. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the revenue-sharing formula as a possible template for other industries. Critics, including former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, warn the decision hands Beijing tools that could erode America’s technological edge. Nevertheless, Chinese semiconductor shares rallied after the announcement, buoyed by expectations of stronger demand and accelerated domestic adoption of AI-linked chips. The twin developments underscore the fluid balance Washington is striking between protecting national security and profiting from the world’s largest electronics market.