China has rocketed ahead in the global artificial intelligence race, transforming from a back-seat player into a leader in AI model adoption within just two years, according to recent reports. By September 2025, its homegrown AI ecosystem is said to have surpassed the combined scale of the U.S. and the EU.
The Chinese Embassy in the US, in a post on X, has shared the data on the adoption of AI from November 2023 to September 2025. The Embassy wrote on the post sharing the data, "In less than two years, China has surged from follower to frontrunner in AI model adoption, overtaking the US and EU combined by Sep 2025.
Industry analysts point to a rapid expansion in China’s AI infrastructure and enterprise adoption. According to a Goldman Sachs report, by the end of 2023, China had developed about 20 “foundation models”, exceeding the combined number in the EU and UK.
Meanwhile, the People’s Daily reports that China now hosts over 5,100 AI companies and leads global large-model rankings on open-source platforms like Hugging Face, claiming nine of the top 10 spots.
Market observers and government officials credit open-source models like Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen and DeepSeek for driving this surge. These models are increasingly closing the performance gap with proprietary international systems, accelerating enterprise adoption across sectors.
The rapid uptake is further underscored by dramatic usage statistics. According to a CNNIC-cited report, China’s generative AI user base reached 515 million by mid-2025 — more than doubling in six months.
Analysts say this moment could mark a turning point: China is not just catching up technologically but may soon be setting the pace in global AI innovation.
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