As the world debates the risks of AI, China closes the technology gap with the U.S. - BNN Bloomberg

HONG KONG — As the rapid development of artificial intelligence triggers a renewed debate about its risks, the United States and China keep racing to develop increasingly powerful models even as they express their own concerns. The U.S. has outpaced China and other countries for years in AI model capabilities, research, citations and other areas. But China has been rapidly catching up as an AI superpower even as U.S.-led restrictions have blocked China from accessing some of the most advanced technologies, including the cutting-edge chips and the machines to make them. Latest updates on artificial intelligence news here Experts and recent reports, like one by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, said China has emerged as an AI counterweight to the U.S. and this year appears to be erasing the U.S. lead. “The gap between U.S. and Chinese models is narrow and fragile,” said Samm Sacks, a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies’ Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs. The current debate takes on greater importance ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Washington this month to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, and as experts say the future of AI will depend significantly on what China and the U.S. do and don’t do. Here’s a quick look at some of the most important Chinese AI models and the concerns in both Washington and Beijing: Moonshot AI leads strong competition from Chinese companies Beijing-based startup Moonshot AI made a splash with the release of Kimi K3, taking Silicon Valley by surprise with capabilities close to U.S. rivals. It was ranked No. 3 globally in model intelligence in July, shortly after its release, behind Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Sol, according to AI benchmarking platform Artificial Analysis. But Kimi K3 now ranks ninth, behind new frontier models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta and SpaceXAI, indicating China’s AI lead is fluid. AI startup darling DeepSeek was the first to upend global stock markets by proving Chinese AI models are capable of challenging the U.S. lead. The company’s R1 model, released in January 2025, was more cost-effective than similar U.S. models. In April, DeepSeek previewed its powerful V4 model, saying it has big improvements in knowledge, reasoning and “agentic” capabilities, referring to the ability to plan and execute multiple, complex steps with limited human guidance. The…