China Expands Global Role in Artificial Intelligence Development

China’s position in the global artificial intelligence sector has shifted markedly in recent years, with growth in research, infrastructure, and international engagement. This development is reflected in rising publication output and the spread of Chinese AI technologies worldwide.

Between 2000 and 2025, China’s contribution to global AI research publications increased from less than 5% to nearly 36%. This rise has been accompanied by the emergence of major domestic AI companies, including ByteDance and Alibaba, which have secured leading positions in China’s AI cloud services market. In the first half of 2025, ByteDance’s Volcano Engine held about 13% of the country’s AI cloud revenue, ranking second after Alibaba.

The Cyberspace Administration of China manages a registry that tracks thousands of generative AI tools, mapping innovation hubs across the country. According to the registry, state-linked organizations account for approximately 22% of the filings. This registry highlights the scale and distribution of AI development efforts within China.

Chinese technology firms have also focused on open-source AI models. Companies such as Baichuan, Z.ai, MiniMax, and Moonshot AI have released models that are available for public use. Alibaba and other major firms have supported several of these startups, sometimes referred to as “AI Tigers.”.

What the numbers show

• China’s share of global AI research publications rose to nearly 36% by 2025
• ByteDance’s Volcano Engine captured about 13% of China’s AI cloud services revenue in early 2025
• Stanford reported 15 notable AI models from China in 2024, compared to 40 from U.S. institutions

Chinese open-source AI models, including Qwen, Kimi, GLM, and DeepSeek, have found users among U.S. startups. Many of these startups do not publicly disclose their reliance on Chinese-developed models, but the adoption of these tools demonstrates the international reach of China’s AI ecosystem.

Several Chinese AI companies have expanded their activities abroad. Alibaba Cloud has announced plans to open new data centers in countries such as Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Dubai. The company has pledged to invest around 380 billion yuan, or approximately $53 billion, over three years to build AI infrastructure.

Recent events include Meta’s acquisition of Manus, a Chinese-founded AI startup, in December 2025. Following this, China’s Ministry of Commerce initiated a review of the acquisition to assess compliance with export control regulations. In January 2026, Z.ai, previously known as Zhipu AI, completed its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Z.ai had been added to the U.S. Commerce Department’s blacklist in January 2025 and has released several GLM models compatible with domestic chips.

Other developments include the activities of 01.AI, a startup founded by Kai-Fu Lee. In 2025, 01.AI released the open-source models Yi-34B and Yi-VL-34B, established a joint laboratory with Alibaba, and launched the Wanzhi enterprise AI platform. These actions reflect ongoing collaboration and innovation within China’s AI sector.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.