The AI Showdown: How the US and China Stack Up

It’s been almost three years since the US kicked off the artificial intelligence boom, and most of the world is still trying to catch up. Only one country is close to matching the US in AI development: China.

Chinese firms such as DeepSeek, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Moonshot have released AI models that approach the capabilities of leading systems from US companies, spurred on by a government that has made AI leadership a national priority. To that end, it’s rolling out a package of generous state support and a national network of interlinked data processing hubs.