Is China able to win the challenge in the artificial intelligence conflict?

In late 2022, the American company OpenAE launched the ChatGPT chat application. Based on generative intelligence technology, which has intensified competition between Washington and Beijing regarding dominance in the throne of artificial intelligence at the global level.
Despite the Biden administration adopting a policy of American encirclement, over the past two years, by imposing a list of restrictions, preventing the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China, in an attempt to delay or at least slow down its development of this modern technology.
This prompted representatives in the House Foreign Affairs Committee to submit a new draft law to facilitate the imposition of more export controls on artificial intelligence models. The law gives the department explicit authority to prevent Americans from working with foreigners to develop artificial intelligence systems, which pose a threat to American national security.
But this did not affect Beijing’s ambition. The Cyberspace Research Institute of the Chinese Cyberspace Administration announced, on May 24, that it was catching up after launching the chat application (Chat Xi PT), by adopting the LLM (Large Language Model) program, which is different in terms of its rules. Data about other artificial intelligence systems.
The new Chinese application, which works in Chinese and English, is based on a knowledge base of local origin and processing, and is not open source, like the American application, which, according to the Chinese, guarantees the integrity and reliability of the data, as its basis is official Chinese sources and documents, broadcast on Chinese servers.
The degree of development, according to the CAC magazine affiliated with the Cyberspace Administration in China, has reached a level described as a “safe and reliable artificial intelligence system,” after the Chinese succeeded in developing a model consistent with the political vision of the Chinese regime. The application is based on the president’s political philosophy, known as “Xi Thought.” Jinping on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
Thus, Beijing succeeded in scoring two goals in the raging strategic conflict over artificial intelligence, one of which is external. It is related to its ability to break Washington’s restrictions and reduce the gap with the American companies that dominate the field, and the other is internal, linked to harnessing artificial intelligence to serve political and economic interests. The content of the application, according to the Financial Times journalist, “does not include any content that undermines the authority of the state.”
Thus, China ensures that artificial intelligence is protected from deviation or going against the directions of the ruling regime in Beijing, because this matter has a profound impact on society.
In February 2022, China had previously suspended the “ChatYuan” application just days after its launch, after describing the war in Ukraine as a “Russian war of aggression,” and stating that “the Chinese economy has no room for optimism,” because the country is facing critical issues.
China seems determined, despite the obstacles and restrictions, to win the challenge it announced in 2017, to become a dominant force in the world in artificial intelligence, by 2030.
The numbers speak of a surge in the number of users of local artificial intelligence applications. For example, the Ernie Bot application, developed by the Chinese technology company Baidu, succeeded in attracting more than 200 million users in April 2024, thus recording double what it announced at the beginning of this year. .
There is no doubt that the Chinese artificial intelligence market is on the verge of a revolution, thanks to the intensification of competition between local companies, which puts American hegemony at risk, especially after China’s decision to accept the entry of foreign investments into this field.