But the alarming hacking ability of top artificial intelligence models is leading Beijing to see the dangers in a new light, with the spy agency chief warning this week that the technology could jeopardise national security.

The potential vulnerability of Chinese mega-app WeChat was also revealed recently when a small team of programmers in California said it had used AI to build a cyberattack “worm” that, if unleashed, could easily compromise millions of WeChat accounts.

“There are more similarities than differences when it comes to AI safety issues” in China and the United States, said Kevin Xu, founder of US-based technology hedge fund Interconnected Capital.

But unlike in America, these “don’t get litigated or go viral in public in China”, Xu told AFP.

Nevertheless, the cybersecurity impact of AI agent bots acting without human oversight “would rank very high among the Chinese government’s biggest concerns”.

As the topic grabs global headlines, the pressure is on for President Xi Jinping and US counterpart Donald Trump to discuss tackling the AI threats to both countries at in-person talks on Thursday — despite their rivalry in the field.

Both powers are “developing a more realistic and shared understanding of these risks, thereby heightening the sense of urgency” to work together, Sun Chenghao of Tsinghua University’s Centre for International Security and Strategy told AFP.

Cooperation on shared safety evaluations for AI models or alert systems when crises emerge might be undermined by the fierce competition, however.

“We’re leading China in AI… and frankly I want to keep it that way,” Trump said when asked about calls from top US labs for a coordinated slowdown of their cutting-edge work.

Meanwhile, Sun said, “China is concerned that ‘security’ may be used as a tool to restrict its technological development”.

‘Vulnerable position’

A stark warning of the existential threat posed by self-improving future AI systems, posted on X by a researcher resigning from US startup Anthropic, has fuelled debate worldwide over how the technology should be governed.

China is already actively regulating how it is used, such as by prohibiting the creation of an AI-generated avatar in someone’s likeness without their consent.

“Chinese AI policy focuses more on real, present-day harms to society and people,” said Brian Tse, CEO at Concordia AI, a Beijing-based consultancy focused on AI safety.

“Beijing treats AI as a general-purpose technology — not a ‘god-in-a-box’,” he said.

It sees it as “something closer to electricity or the automobile: enormously beneficial for society and industry, but ultimately manageable through regulation”, Tse said.

He added that “recent AI capability jumps, high-profile incidents acting as ‘warning shots’, and a worrying pace of AI development through automation” had all pushed the technology up the list of priorities.

On the streets of Shanghai, AFP found a mix of concern and pragmatism about AI.

“In my view, no new technology develops completely smoothly,” said 42-year-old Xie Zongbo.

He said news of the cyberattack “worm” that could hack into WeChat may in fact be “a good thing: identifying the issue, solving it, and patching the loophole ultimately benefits the advancement of cybersecurity”.

There was also broad support for tight regulation.

“I believe that no business… would ever impose restrictions on themselves,” said a 50-year-old pharmaceutical worker, who gave her name as Jenny.

“Take traffic as an example: drivers would never say, ‘I want all red lights’.” Jia Zijian, founder of Singapore-based Inspired AI, said his greatest concern was highly capable AI models learning to crack complex passwords.

“Suppose these critical passwords or national security key codes were to be effortlessly cracked. In such a scenario… both China and the US would find themselves vulnerable: if our (China’s) capabilities are strong enough, they would feel exposed.

“And if theirs are strong enough and we lack defences, we would be in a similarly vulnerable position.”

Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France from September 25 to 28, which includes events at the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Champs-Elysees, will involve some 15,000 members of the security forces.

The groundwork for this visit — the first papal trip to Paris since 2008 — was laid well before it was officially announced.

Countries invite the pope, but whether or not he visits is based on a range of pastoral and political considerations.

The complex decision “depends heavily on the international context”, a Vatican source told AFP.

The Vatican takes into account social and political circumstances, from conflicts to humanitarian crises, as well as the situation of the local church and the history of previous visits.

But each pope has his own wish list and the choice of destinations also reflects the papacy’s geopolitical priorities.

For example, “John Paul II travelled extensively to eastern European countries to denounce Communism,” the source said.

In his 12 years as pontiff, the Argentinian Pope Francis favoured the “peripheries” of the Church, from Iraq to Mongolia and Papua New Guinea, while US-born Leo seems more inclined towards Europe and major international institutions.

Sky-high briefing

Since the Vatican does not have an official aircraft, the Holy See charters a commercial plane from Italian national airline ITA for the outbound journey, while the return flight is generally operated by the host country.

On board, the pope occupies seat 1A, at the front left of the cabin. In front of him is a depiction of the Virgin Mary.

Beside him, in seats bearing the Holy See coat of arms, sit cardinals, his private secretaries, and a doctor.

Dressed in dark suits and ties, some 40 officers from the Vatican Gendarmerie and Swiss Guard provide close protection.

In the rear of the cabin travel the media: approximately 80 journalists, photographers and cameramen.

Media outlets pay for their correspondents’ tickets, which generally cost several thousand euros.

On the outbound journey, the pope walks down the plane, greeting the journalists individually.

He sometimes shares a few personal anecdotes and some correspondents give him presents — from football shirts to food.

On the return trip, the pontiff holds one of the most closely watched press conferences in the world: a sky-high briefing at 10,000 metres in a cabin cluttered with cameras, microphones and tripods.

The luggage includes the pope’s personal belongings, speeches prepared weeks in advance, and security equipment.

There are also sealed cases containing liturgical objects — such as chasubles, to be worn during mass — and dozens of official gifts for heads of state and dignitaries, such as paintings, books or rosaries.

‘Advance team’

Security and logistics are the biggest challenges. With his dual status as head of state and leader of 1.4 billion Catholics, the pope is one of the most heavily protected figures in the world.

The medical team carries a supply of the pope’s blood type, while a hospital suite is kept on standby in the host country.

The iconic white pope-mobile is transported in advance, and a backup vehicle is ready on site.

Journalists, including AFP, precede the pope at every stage in a convoy escorted by law enforcement, with sirens blaring.

As before each trip, a Vatican delegation known as the “advance team” travelled to France in mid-July to finalise the details with local authorities.

“The programme can change at the very last minute,” a Vatican security source told AFP.

“Everything has to be meticulously planned, almost down to the second.”

“This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly,” the US State Department warned, adding American citizens outside the Middle East should “seriously reconsider travel to and through the region”.

US President Donald Trump also cut short a weekend at Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday.

The White House gave no explanation for the early return, which comes as a new threshold was crossed in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen and are fighting government forces backed by a coalition.

Loud explosions rang out on Saturday in the Saudi capital, where AFP journalists saw a fuel tank bearing the logo of oil giant Aramco on fire near the airport.

In recent weeks, the Houthis’ lightning offensive seizing swathes of Yemeni territory has left hundreds dead and, according to the UN refugee agency, displaced more than 110,000 people.

The violence has already disrupted exports from Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading supplier of crude oil, as well as maritime traffic.

CIA chief meets Egypt’s Sisi

On Sunday, US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a rare visit to Cairo.

Sisi stressed “the paramount importance of settling regional crises through political and diplomatic tracks”, according to a presidency statement.

The visit came days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was also in the Egyptian capital, where he and Sisi urged safe and secure navigation through Bab al-Mandab, after the Houthis seized the Yemeni coast.

The Bab al-Mandab strait is a Red Sea waterway that is crucial to energy flows and global shipping and which has become even more strategic since Iran imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.

Condemning the Houthis’ latest attacks, Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the broadcaster NTV that his country had had discussions with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, partners in a mutual defence pact, about possible assistance.

“In this regard, military needs, especially in state technical matters, may happen. There would be no problem in meeting this demand either,” he said.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile seemed to contain the fallout of the Houthis’ attacks on its territory.

On Sunday, the attack on Riyadh was not mentioned in several major Saudi papers, even though hours beforehand, the Saudi-led coalition had said that a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis was “successfully intercepted and destroyed”.

The coalition added that the pro-Iranian fighters had tried to target “civilians and civilian infrastructure” in several cities in the west of the kingdom, including the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, an important export hub for Saudi oil.

It said these attacks were thwarted by the Gulf monarchy’s air defences.

Claiming responsibility for the attack, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said fighters had carried out “two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones”.

“The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu.”

Saudi Arabia has responded with scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas but has been unable to stop the fighters’ advance.

The United States, according to US news platform Axios, last week refused a Saudi request to strike the Houthis, but Washington has since approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets.

Widening conflict

This is the first time since Yemen’s civil war resumed that strikes have threatened the Saudi capital, piling further pressure on a global economy already rocked by seven months of war between the US and Iran.

Iran’s top negotiator said Tehran had conveyed to the US through mediators its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blockaded throughout the Middle East war.

The Middle East war began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which responded with retaliatory attacks on nearby Gulf countries. Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen also carried out attacks against their foes.

While conflict in Yemen predates the Middle East war, the recent escalation in the country — one of the world’s poorest — has turned it into the most active front of the wider violence.

A fragile truce reached in 2022 collapsed in July, and the Houthis went on an all-out offensive against the internationally recognised government this month.