German Media: China Is Challenging the US in AI and Has Evolved from a "Follower" to a "Rule-Maker"

The Frankfurter Rundschau comments that in the field of artificial intelligence, China is now challenging the United States and has transformed from a "follower" into a "rule-maker."

"AI – China Is Rapidly Catching Up to the US"

Citing a report released this week by Boston Consulting Group, the Frankfurter Rundschau notes that while the United States still holds a leading edge in artificial intelligence, China is rapidly catching up and has established an increasingly independent AI ecosystem:

"China is increasingly focusing on reducing its reliance on the US when advancing its domestic AI initiatives. Although the US government has recently allowed the sale of more high-end Nvidia chips to China, China's largest Nvidia customer—ByteDance—is not permitted to use chips produced in the US. Chinese regulations stipulate that computing centers must use domestically produced chips, with Huawei chips being particularly expected to play a key role."

Although the latest model from China’s AI company Deepseek used Nvidia chips at least during the training phase, its operations have already been optimized for Huawei chips. The Boston Consulting Group report states: 'For many countries, low-cost Chinese models running on Chinese chips may be more attractive.' This is especially true for Global South nations with closer ties to Beijing. Even in Europe, rising prices of US-based models and the ever-present risk of export controls are sparking interest in Chinese alternatives. By the end of 2025, downloads of open-source Chinese AI models had already surpassed those of American models.

Meanwhile, the growing incompatibility between China and the US in the field of artificial intelligence means that Europe’s future options for mixed use of Chinese and American technologies will become increasingly limited. Apple has already begun collaborating with Alibaba to develop AI for iPhones targeting the Chinese market, while in other regions, Apple continues its partnership with OpenAI. Boston Consulting Group believes that among middle powers, Europe has the strongest capabilities in AI but remains significantly behind both the US and China.

The promising French company Mistral lags behind top global AI labs by approximately three to ten months. But in the era of artificial intelligence, three to ten months represent an extremely long gap.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869712430408713/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.