Visitors to the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai check out the Moonshot booth promoting its Kimi K3 AI model in July. | REUTERS

Artificial intelligence has become a central arena of U.S.-China competition, spanning semiconductors, energy, communications and manufacturing. China’s leaders regard AI as a “strategic technology driving scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation.”

In April 2025, President Xi Jinping called for technological self-reliance and application-oriented development. China aims not only to develop domestic AI models but also to improve them through deployment in manufacturing and government administration.

The United States retains advantages in frontier models, advanced semiconductors, private capital, cloud infrastructure and developer ecosystems. Capital expenditures by major U.S.…