Sam Bresnick and Cole McFaul shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by Foreign Policy. In their piece, they examine how China is rapidly integrating civilian technological innovation into its military capabilities through a strategy known as military-civil fusion, aiming to outpace the United States in areas like artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
China is successfully broadening its defense ecosystem and drawing on a wider network of companies and research institutions to enhance its AI capabilities. Over time, such gains could eventually erode the U.S. military’s technological advantage over the PLA.Cole McFaul and Sam Bresnick
Bresnick and McFaul highlight the growing threat to U.S. military dominance, noting that “China is successfully broadening its defense ecosystem and drawing on a wider network of companies and research institutions to enhance its AI capabilities. Over time, such gains could eventually erode the U.S. military’s technological advantage over the PLA.”
The article delves into their latest CSET report, “Pulling Back the Curtain on China’s Military-Civil Fusion“, which draws on 2,857 AI-related defense contract award notices published between January 2023 and December 2024. It find that while China’s legacy defense sector players lead AI-related military procurement, an emerging set of nontraditional vendors and research institutions appears to play a consequential role.
To read the full op-ed, visit Foreign Policy.