According to a report by Singapore's Business Times on July 30th, China does not necessarily need to develop 'the strongest model' in artificial intelligence competition that outperforms the United States. As long as it can introduce AI models that are excellent, cost-effective, and more open, China could potentially win business customers.
Reports say that in the past, AI competitions were seen as a battle between China and the United States over which team could create the “smartest model”. However, now the focus is shifting to who can develop a technology platform that is “good enough, cheap enough, and open enough”.
The report takes as an example the open-source model Kimi K3 recently released by Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI. It is said that this model achieves a level similar to that of leading American models at a cost far lower than American competitors.
A recent study by the AI Security Institute in the UK shows that the gap between China’s leading open weight models and the US’s cutting-edge models has narrowed from 6 to 10 months in 2025 to 4 to 7 months.
According to Business Times, when choosing AI technology, companies do not only consider performance rankings. They also take into account costs, security, reliability, and the compatibility with existing systems. As the gap between Chinese and American models narrows, the importance of price and openness is increasing.
Unlike most closed-source models in the United States, China’s open-weight models allow companies to download, modify, and deploy them, which helps reduce costs and enhances control over data. Reports suggest that China is expanding its technological ecosystem influence by promoting the open use of AI models.
The article concludes that China may not need to develop AI that is more powerful than that of the United States. Instead, it only needs to create an AI that is considered “good enough” by global companies, which could potentially change the pattern of this technological competition.
