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Artificial intelligence
Opinion
SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

US aims to dominate AI but China’s open-source approach is unstoppable

Washington’s fear of China’s rapid AI progress is evident in US officials trotting out tired accusations and threatening sanctions

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People visit the Moonshot AI stand, featuring the Kimi K3 model, during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 18. Photo: AFP
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
With China’s tech sector releasing two of its most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models, industry insiders and policymakers are over the moon. Their American counterparts, though, are alarmed. Chinese AI start-up Moonshot’s Kimi K3 and Alibaba’s Qwen3.8-Max-Preview have been called a second DeepSeek moment, but this time, it’s a one-two punch. China is catching up with the United States in the AI race more quickly than previously estimated. Its AI models charge a fraction of the fees levied by their US rivals.

Because they are open-source, anyone moderately skilled in the new tech can create bespoke programmes, unlike the restrictive use imposed by AI providers in the US. Alibaba’s and Moonshot’s latest models outperform all competitors except the most advanced US models on overall capability. Alibaba owns this newspaper.

You can tell China’s AI is posing a significant challenge when US officials such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent resort to their old playbook: levelling unfounded accusations about intellectual property theft and threatening investigation and sanctions.

China’s open-source AI is unstoppable. It aims to provide global benefits. As President Xi Jinping said at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, there needs to be a more open and inclusive approach to support AI use and adoption in the Global South. While calling for “openness” and regulations to keep the technology “secure and controllable”, we must also avoid creating “new historical injustice” with uneven tech development.

China must act responsibly, regardless of what the US does with its own tech. Ironically, the US is among advanced economies where China’s cost-efficient AI models have been most popular. China’s AI will help developing nations advance economically and technologically, just as the spread of affordable Chinese 5G telecoms systems has greatly benefited them.

Hong Kong could be the most immediate beneficiary. The city has both the financial and legal infrastructure, as well as the tech base with our universities, to serve as an AI hub. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has said Hong Kong is ideal for AI commercialisation and a springboard for mainland Chinese companies in the tech field to expand overseas. The cooperation of the local government, universities and the private sector will generate a critical mass for research and development, a launch pad for global applications, a wide talent pool and end-to-end financial and office support.

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