More than 600 million people in China were using generative artificial intelligence services as of December, a 142% increase from the year before, according to a government‑controlled internet center report cited by the Associated Press. That explosive adoption — coupled with the rapid uptake of “agentic” AI that can orchestrate complex, multi‑step tasks — has pushed the country’s weekly share of model data consumption past that of the United States, the AI gateway platform OpenRouter reported.
The consumer appetite was on display in Beijing and Shenzhen this spring, where crowds gathered outside tech offices seeking help installing OpenClaw, an open‑source AI agent created by Austrian software developer Peter Steinberger. “I’m worried about falling behind in technological developments,” said Sun Lei, a 41‑year‑old human resources manager in Beijing, who hoped the tool would help her screen résumés across multiple recruitment platforms.
Chinese firms are racing to commercialize the technology. Tencent has embedded OpenClaw into WeChat, the ubiquitous “super‑app” used for messaging, payments, and food ordering. Alibaba, meanwhile, is weaving agentic AI into enterprise workflows, and many companies have set internal targets for efficiency gains from AI, said Janet Tang, a partner and managing director at consultancy AlixPartners.
For individuals, the tools are already mundane. Zhao Yikang, a college student in Macao, used OpenClaw to generate promotional videos and manage social‑media accounts during an internship. Preparing to start a photo‑services business, he asked AI to build a company website; within 10 minutes, it produced a fully functional site for less than 5 yuan (70 cents). “AI can understand things in a second,” Zhao told the AP. “You just need to act as a commander and tell it what to do.”
Jason Tong, a 64‑year‑old retiree in Shanghai who formerly worked as an IT engineer, has leaned on AI chatbots Doubao and Kimi for everyday queries for years. In early March, he joined a blood‑glucose monitoring service that uses an AI model to deliver personalized health advice. “Just as carriages were eventually replaced by trains, this is bound to happen,” Tong said of broad AI integration.
The enthusiasm has drawn warnings from Chinese authorities, who have flagged potential security risks from OpenClaw agents, including data leaks. Yet installation numbers continue to climb.
Behind the user boom, U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductors remain a persistent bottleneck for China’s AI ambitions. “Export controls on tools have slowed China’s chipmaking capabilities, and are the Achilles’ heel of many AI labs that need advanced AI chips,” said Samm Sacks, a senior fellow at New America. But the same controls have forced tighter coordination across China’s design, manufacturing, and adoption ecosystem, a dynamic she said “could fuel, not foil, China’s ambitions.”
Evidence of progress arrived last month when China’s DeepSeek released a preview of its V4 model partially powered by Huawei‑designed chips, reducing reliance on industry leader Nvidia. A recent Stanford University report found the performance gap between the best Chinese and U.S. models had “effectively closed,” even as American policymakers and AI firms accuse Chinese startups of stealing U.S. technologies — allegations Beijing dismisses as groundless.
“It won’t be long before China moves from fast follower to parallel innovator,” said Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at Omdia. He noted that China’s Great Firewall and controlled internet environment are unlikely to seriously hinder AI development, given that the technology is already being tested, integrated, and scaled within that environment.
Chinese leaders have pledged at least 7% annual average growth in research and development spending through 2030. Judges in Shenzhen processed 50% more cases last year partly with the help of an AI tool, a court official said. The government’s “AI plus” blueprint envisions AI woven into health care, education, and governance, a roadmap that analysts say will reinforce the country’s status as the world’s most vivid showcase of what artificial intelligence looks like at scale.