Journal of Global Communication

China has maintained strict control over domestic access to global internet services, driven by concerns about internet sovereignty. For years, the country has successfully relied on various domestic alternatives. Recently, technological independence and competition have become pivotal topics on Chinese social media, particularly in the context of the ongoing trade war with the United States and restrictions on Chinese technology companies. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology by the United States have sparked concerns among the Chinese public about the potential rivalry between the two nations. The inaccessibility of the ChatGPT service has further fueled the polarization of opinions regarding China’s internet policy. This research explores how state media portrays the rapidly advancing ChatGPT and related AI breakthroughs, and how the public engages with these representations. A framing analysis was conducted to examine the domestic public’s interpretations of ChatGPT’s emergence and subsequent restrictions. The findings suggest that public attitudes toward AI tools developed by U.S. companies are fragmented, encompassing a mix of sentiments such as Western admiration and anti-Western nationalism. These attitudes reflect China’s ambivalent stance, oscillating between maintaining technological independence and seeking global cooperation in the context of globalization. This research provides new insights into the interplay between China’s internet governance and domestic techno-nationalist sentiment.