China

Companies turn to Chinese AI models to cut costs

The Financial Times
| July 12, 2026

CSET’s Sam Bresnick shared his expert insight in an article published by The Financial Times. The article examines why companies around the world are increasingly adopting Chinese AI models, drawn by their lower costs, improving capabilities, and the flexibility offered by open-weight systems.

CSET’s Sam Bresnick shared his expert insight in an article published by The Wall Street Journal. The article examines China’s successful launch and recovery of the Long March-10B rocket booster, a milestone that could significantly reduce launch costs and strengthen China’s ambitions to become a leading space power.

CSET Executive Director Helen Toner spoke about the global AI competition at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

When cheap AI becomes a secret weapon

Politico
| June 30, 2026

CSET’s Sam Bresnick shared his expert insight in a newsletter segment published by Politico. The article examines the evolving U.S.–China AI competition, focusing on how cost-efficient Chinese AI models are beginning to gain traction globally and what that could mean for the long-term balance of technological and economic power in artificial intelligence.

CSET’s Sam Bresnick shared his expert insight in an article published by CNBC. The article examines U.S. AI restrictions and China’s rapid progress in closing the gap with leading American models.

The Long Arm of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Wire China
| June 21, 2026

CSET’s Hanna Dohmen shared her expert insight in an article published by The Wire China. The article examines how the Chinese Academy of Sciences maintains long-term relationships with companies it supports, extending beyond initial investment or spinouts into ongoing collaboration across research, talent development, and shared resources.

CSET’s Sam Bresnick shared his expert perspective in an op-ed published by Perry World House. In his piece, he argues that relaxing U.S. restrictions on advanced AI semiconductor exports to China would undermine long-term U.S. technological advantage.

CSET’s Jacob Feldgoise shared his expert insight in an article published by The New York Times. The article examines how China is accelerating efforts to build a domestic A.I. ecosystem as companies like DeepSeek and Huawei develop alternatives to American chips amid ongoing U.S. export controls.

The AI arms race’s sneakiest tactic

Politico
| April 29, 2026

CSET’s Kyle Miller shared his expert insight in a newsletter published by Politico. The newsletter examines concerns over Chinese efforts to use “distillation” techniques to replicate capabilities from U.S. frontier AI models, and the debate in Washington over whether the practice poses a major national security threat or a manageable technical issue.

CSET’s Helen Toner shared her expert insight in an article published by the South China Morning Post. The article examines growing US concerns over Chinese AI companies using “distillation” techniques to replicate advanced American AI models at lower cost, and how potential US restrictions could reshape China’s AI industry.