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Aug 4, 2026

China’s soft power play in the global AI arms race

Over the past couple of months, China’s influence over the global AI industry has grown. Adam Segal at the Council of Foreign Relations says much of that growth is thanks to China’s adoption of the open-weighted model.

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China’s soft power play in the global AI arms race
Ng Han Guan - Pool/Getty Images

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Last month, President Xi Jinping spoke at an AI conference in Shanghai, China. There he promoted AI accessibility for the world, touting China’s adoption of open-weighted models.

After OpenAI’s rogue model incident in which a training model hacked into the company HuggingFace and stole confidential information, the discussion over whether models should be open or closed has intensified.

“Marketplace Tech” host Meghan McCarty Carion spoke with Adam Segal at the Council of Foreign Relations about China’s soft power play in the global AI arms race.

More on this

“China Rewrites the ‘Soft Power’ Playbook for the A.I. Age” from the New York Times

“China's global AI strategy” From High Capacity by Kyle Chan

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How China's open-weighted AI model helps it gain influence