China’s AI Strategy: Infrastructure, Diffusion, and the Limits of Containment

In this paper, we discuss:

• China’s 15th Five-Year Plan positioning AI as the central engine of growth;
• Large-scale state-backed cloud and data infrastructure to accelerate AI diffusion;
• How Chinese firms are narrowing the gap despite US export controls;
• The US shift from full containment to managed technological competition;
• A systemic AI race: China prioritizing scale and cost efficiency, the US leveraging ecosystem dominance.

Download PDF: China’s AI Strategy