Will China win the race to become the AI superpower?
AI has now become integral to Beijing’s system of state surveillance, repression and control

The country that leads the way in artificial intelligence “will become the ruler of the world”.
That was Vladimir Putin’s prediction back in 2017, when AI was largely confined to the realm of online chess – and before anyone had even heard of ChatGPT, said Malte Lehming in Tagesspiegel (Berlin). In that same year, China’s President Xi Jinping announced plans to make his nation a “global innovation hub” for AI by 2030.
And since then, Beijing has invested “tens of billions of dollars” a year in AI tech, said Bill Drexel and Hannah Kelley in Foreign Affairs (New York). It has also leveraged its “vast espionage network to try to steal foreign corporate technology secrets”. All this has paid off. China produces “more top-tier AI engineers than any other country – around 45% more than the US”, its closest competitor; and it has overtaken the US in “publishing high-quality AI research”, accounting for some 30% of citations in major AI journals in 2021. AI has now become integral to Beijing’s “system of state surveillance, repression and control”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the papers say?
AI has also become integral to China’s military strategy, said Gabriel Dominguez in The Japan Times (Tokyo). The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is preoccupied with developing its capabilities for “cognitive warfare”: using AI techniques to influence the minds and shape the decisions of its adversaries.
In particular, its focus is on using them to manipulate public opinion in Taiwan, which it could do by amassing vast databanks of detailed personal information and then using deep fakes and other forms of AI-generated misinformation to engineer a change in people’s perception of China’s intentions.
Running in parallel with this is the PLA’s deployment of AI on its own troops: more and more of its soldiers are being given smart sensor bracelets that it claims can continuously record their facial information and state of mind, and address any perceived psychological problems. There is still a fair amount of scepticism about how effective these techniques will prove to be, but Washington isn’t taking any chances – which is why it is restricting the sale of advanced chips for AI to China.
Understandably so, said Christy DeSmith in The Harvard Gazette (Cambridge, US). China is uniquely well placed to become an AI superpower. The technology is heavily dependent on the input and interpretation of data; and autocratic regimes “collect vast troves of it”, which they can hand over to favoured tech firms.
Yet when it comes to the systems known as “foundation models”, which “give generative AI” like ChatGPT its wits, America is still leading the field, said The Economist. ChatGPT was created by US startup OpenAI; Google and Meta have powerful systems of their own. And while Chinese firms have built rivals to ChatGPT, their foremost effort, Baidu’s Ernie, is “widely seen as less clever” than the best US systems. Analysts reckon China is now “two or three years behind America” in this arena, in part because so much more of the internet is written in English, giving US-built chatbots more material to draw upon.
What’s next?
Just as worrying for China is the exodus of its experts, said Gabrielle Chou in Le Monde Diplomatique (Paris). Although “almost a third of the world’s best AI researchers come from China”; only one in ten of them work there. Most have gone to work in the US, fearing that Beijing will soon tighten regulation of the sector.
Their fears are well-placed, said Matt O’Shaughnessy in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Washington). In April, China’s internet regulator unveiled a draft law containing wide-ranging new rules for AI. All AI-generated content must henceforth reflect “socialist core values”; content deemed a “subversion of state power” will be banned.
The truth is that AI poses a clear threat to authoritarian regimes as well as an advantage: “deep fakes” and other AI-based techniques can easily undermine national security and social order. China might see AI as a way of advancing its quest for global supremacy, said Bill Drexel and Hannah Kelley, but just like everybody else, it will need to tread carefully.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures A sea of kites, a game of sand hockey, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US
-
G20: Viola Davis stars in 'ludicrous' but fun action thriller
The Week Recommends The award-winning actress plays the 'swashbuckling American president' in this newly released Prime Video film
By The Week UK
-
The Masters: Rory McIlroy finally banishes his demons
In the Spotlight McIlroy's grand slam triumph will go down as 'one of the greatest and most courageous victories in the history of golf'
By The Week UK
-
Fake AI job seekers are flooding U.S. companies
In the Spotlight It's getting harder for hiring managers to screen out bogus AI-generated applicants
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Not invincible: Tech burned by tariff war
Feature Tariffs on Asian countries are shaking up Silicon Valley, driving up prices and deepening global tensions
By The Week US
-
Meta on trial: What will become of Mark Zuckerberg's social media empire?
Today's Big Question Despite the CEO's attempt to ingratiate himself with Trump, Meta is on trial, accused by the U.S. government of breaking antitrust law
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
How might AI chatbots replace mental health therapists?
Today's Big Question Clients form 'strong relationships' with tech
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
What are AI hallucinations?
The Explainer Artificial intelligence is known for making things up – and that can cause real damage
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI
Feature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
By The Week US
-
OpenAI's new model is 'really good' at creative writing
Under the Radar CEO Sam Altman says he is impressed. But is this merely an attempt to sell more subscriptions?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US