Axios: China’s strengths

China’s strengths
 
Illustrated collage of a robot with a Chinese flag face over a background of various stripes and colors
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
 
China is America’s only real AI competition — and, despite its weaknesses, it has some serious, structural advantages.

Why it matters: China leads in the physical ingredients for scaling AI: power, materials, robots and cheap models people actually use. These are the key ingredients for turning superhuman intelligence into real economic and military power.

Think of it this way: If they catch up — or lap us — on AI capabilities and chip production, they’re way better positioned to instantly impose and roll it out across society. In fact, they’re beating us there, too (more on that below).

🦾 Their edge exists thanks to:

Power: Electricity is the biggest bottleneck on America’s AI buildout, and China is swimming in it. BloombergNEF estimates China will add almost six times as much generating capacity as the U.S. over the next five years.

Vital materials: China dominates the minerals AI hardware runs on. The IEA tracks 20 essential ones for building AI and adjacent tech — and China dominates all but one, usually by huge margins. They have applied export controls to half of them as a way to slow us down.

Rolling out robots: This is where AI truly meets the real work. More than half of all industrial robots installed worldwide in 2024 went to China. They dominate us on this one. Better AI will equal better robots.

Cheap, widespread adoption: Chinese open-source models are the world’s default for developers building cheaply. Five of the six most popular models on OpenRouter, a leading AI marketplace, come from Chinese firms.

Land-and-sky autonomy: They’re simply crushing us on self-driving cars and self-flying drones. China’s DJI alone has over 70% of the global drone market.
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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