Arms race: how good is Chinese AI?

More than six months on from DeepSeek’s breakthrough, how much has China’s AI ecosystem evolved? As it turns out, quite a bit. In an extended interview with Alex Hern, The Economist’s AI writer, we examine the major players in China, their models and how Chinese AI stacks up against its Western rivals. Now that the White House has lifted restrictions on the export of high-end chips to China, how might the battle for AI supremacy unfold?

Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor, speaks with our AI writer Alex Hern.

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