The United States has warned Chinese artificial intelligence companies of possible sanctions over model theft. A joint advisory from the FBI, NSA and CISA named Chinese firms including DeepSeek and Alibaba. US officials say Chinese companies are using a technique called distillation to copy US-built AI models. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said sanctions and the Entity List are on the table. The warning marks a sharper tone in the AI technology rivalry. US intelligence says Chinese labs are trying to close the gap with American AI firms. Nvidia chief Jensen Huang has disagreed with tougher restrictions. He says China will build strong AI models with or without US chips. The advisory asks US firms to protect their models. It also signals that export controls on AI technology may widen. The move comes as Washington reviews how far China has advanced. The warning follows months of debate over how fast Chinese AI labs are catching up. US officials say protecting AI models is now a national security priority. The move could widen export controls on AI technology further.