"In the AI competition with the United States, China is taking a late-mover strategy." According to reports by The Washington Post on June 26, although US AI companies are leading in advanced models, Chinese companies are providing more affordable and commercially attractive AI products globally. As the market share of Chinese AI continues to grow, China may gain greater global influence in the field of AI.
The American leadership views the AI competition as a key factor in seizing the ‘future dominance’, and is striving to maintain its lead. U.S. President Donald Trump recently stated, ‘Whoever gains a lead in this field can lead the world to a great extent, and the impact of this is tremendous.’ He boasted that the United States currently holds a significant advantage over China in the field of AI.
However, analysts in the AI field say that Trump’s claim of a “lead” might be misleading, and it is only temporary. A report published by JPMorgan’s Geopolitical Center in May stated: “Top models may converge near the forefront, but the results increasingly depend on the quality of prompts, tools, and domain integration.”
This report supplements to say that China's AI labs are developing models that "win in terms of adoption rate."
June 25th, Beijing, AI Origin Community IC Photo
In the past year, Chinese companies have made significant progress in promoting AI models. The user base includes government departments, businesses, and individuals from Southeast Asia to the Gulf region. For example, an AI project supported by the Singapore government will be built based on Alibaba's Qwen. Saudi Arabia is collaborating with ByteDance and Huawei to apply AI to urban infrastructure.
Industry insiders told The Washington Post that the soaring costs of AI usage are a headache for many industries, and they are actively looking for ways to improve the utilization rate of Tokens. This creates greater opportunities for Chinese companies, as Chinese AI models are cheaper and more efficient in operation.
A salesperson from a leading AI company in China also pointed out that many industries actually only need a "small portion" of the functions offered by the most advanced AI models in the United States. "If we can provide 80% of those functions at extremely low costs, that would be sufficient. Then, that portion of the market will be ours."
Headquarters located in Tel Aviv, Israel, Bright Data's Chief Revenue Officer, Guania Calgarashvili, stated that many customers are trying to use Chinese AI models, "This is undeniable, both in terms of cost-effectiveness and token utilization rate, they are very good."
Gargashvili pointed out that the vast majority of companies have no prejudice against China and are very willing to adopt solutions that suit their own interests, which will create more opportunities for Chinese AI companies. He said that although the US government has increasing concerns about Chinese AI models, Chinese AI has a place in the world everywhere, and “the situation has changed dramatically in just one year.”
In addition to being affordable, most AI products in China are open-source. This means that users can download these models and deploy them locally, which has attracted many companies that need to handle sensitive information, as well as those who are concerned about rising prices for AI services.
Living in Thailand, Russian Alexander Moldevnikov said that his AI banking startup was entirely built based on the Qwen model, as he wanted to keep data under local control. He said, "Companies using cloud systems sometimes experience data breaches, and I can't allow that to happen. This model is more suitable for me."
The current chaotic AI regulatory policies in the United States also affect the promotion of AI models in the country. On June 12 local time, the U.S. government issued export control directives to Anthropic, requiring the company to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for all foreign citizens.
"US Nonpartisan Initiative Organization “Special Competition Research Project” Vice President Ma Tai-Yin Laes expressed that users now have reason to be concerned about the reliability of US AI products, “This is not an attractive feature.”
At a forum held in Paris last week, Alibaba's Board Chairman Cai Chongxin called on Europe to consider China's AI products. He pointed out, "The problem is that you are putting all your eggs in one basket. Why not choose a second basket and spread the eggs across multiple baskets?"
In the view of analysts, America's advantages in the field of AI could be shaken at any time. Lasser believes that American AI companies focus on cutting-edge technological advancements but neglect the commercial application and dissemination of their products. This may allow China to gain a dominant position in terms of “soft power and economic influence,” which will give China greater influence in the global AI field.
According to analyst William Ershaw from the ‘Special Competitive Research Project’, if China can gain a larger market share, it is entirely possible to replicate the success achieved in industries such as photovoltaic equipment, rare earth processing, and electric vehicles. This approach can be used to return profits to technological development.
