China’s cooperation with Belt and Road partners in affordable and adaptable AI paves way for more inclusive and integrated digital governance

As the global artificial intelligence landscape evolves at breakneck speed amid intense races, China is emerging as a key driver of inclusive, affordable digital cooperation. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, it is forging a new model of complementary and mutually beneficial collaboration that links technological strengths with real-world development needs.

China’s AI industry has expanded rapidly over the past two years, building two core advantages that underpin its growing role in global digital cooperation.

The first is its complete industry chain, supported by massive computing power and vibrant AI application activities that can effectively meet surging global demand.

Data from OpenRouter — a platform widely used by developers to access AI models — for the week from April 6 to 12 show that the weekly token consumption of China’s large-scale AI models reached 10.3 trillion, compared with 2.95 trillion of the United States and ranking first worldwide. Notably, Chinese models — Qwen 3.6 Plus, DeepSeek V3.2 and Step 3.5 Flash — are among the world’s top AI models. Token consumption serves as a key measure of real-world model deployment, user adoption and industrialization scale.

The second, and more critical, advantage is the unmatched cost efficiency in computing power. Leading Chinese large models deliver performance on a par with top global peers at a fraction of the cost. For example, the inference cost — the core expense of running generative models — of Chinese models such as MiniMax M2.5 and DeepSeek can be less than 20 percent of that of leading international counterparts.

This superior cost-performance ratio forms the cornerstone of China’s global AI competitiveness, drastically lowering the threshold for developing countries to access cutting-edge AI technologies. Backed by integrated computing and power supply systems, this breakthrough eases the financial and technical burden of digital transformation, allowing developing economies to embrace digital progress at sustainable and affordable costs.

These advantages align well with a growing global need for AI technologies. On the demand side, the global appetite for AI applications is rising rapidly. Gartner projects that global AI spending could surge to $2.52 trillion in 2026, creating enormous market opportunities for China’s growing and scalable AI industry.

China’s AI industry has been going global in recent years, with a clear shift in its international focus. Its early global presence focused on infrastructure and hardware, including power facility construction and exports of intelligent robotic products. According to Chinese customs data, in 2025, the country’s exports of industrial robots surged 48.7 percent year-on-year, making China a net exporter of industrial robots for the first time.

A defining structural shift took place in 2025, as China moved from hardware exports to delivering full-stack AI-powered services and solutions worldwide. Chinese cloud and AI enterprises have accelerated their global presence, with expanding overseas computing infrastructure and surging international business.

Major Chinese cloud providers have achieved high triple-digit growth in overseas AI-related revenue for consecutive quarters, with rapid expansion in international markets including Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. By the first quarter of 2026, numerous Chinese AI enterprises had established a commercial presence in more than 170 countries and regions, providing affordable computing services, intelligent applications and industry solutions for global users.

This trend confirms that China is exporting not just physical equipment, but AI solutions that embody large models, intelligent hardware and industry-specific applications, thereby laying a solid foundation for deeper, more integrated global AI cooperation.

For China’s AI globalization, economies involved in the BRI represent the most dynamic and promising frontier, especially in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. AI spending in these markets, including local investment in hardware, industry-specific smart solutions and cloud services, is projected to grow at an annual rate above 25 percent in the coming years. This robust demand aligns with China’s technological strengths, industrial maturity and practical experience in large-scale AI applications, creating ideal conditions for deepened cooperation.

Unlike traditional one-way technology transfer, China’s AI cooperation with partners engaged in the BRI is problem-oriented and tailored to local needs.

To help partners avoid the heavy cost of building independent data centers, China provides flexible token-based computing services customized to national conditions. It deploys targeted AI solutions for key industries and livelihood sectors, and coordinates the planning of computing, network and power infrastructure to support sustainable digital development.

In practice, China’s cost-efficient AI has delivered tangible economic benefits and markedly improved operational efficiency across BRI markets. At key China-Europe freight train hubs such as Xi’an International Port Station and Manzhouli Port, AI-powered intelligent scheduling, automated container handling and cross-border digital clearance systems have cut transit times by more than 30 percent, according to China State Railway Group. On Silk Road e-commerce platforms, the use of AI tools has helped small and medium-sized enterprises in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Central Asia and the Middle East increase sales by 30 to 80 percent and significantly improve their profitability, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Beyond short-term economic gains, China’s AI partnerships are helping BRI countries build long-term technological capacity and independent digital industries.

Chinese AI solutions can sharply reduce large model training costs for developing countries, enabling them to skip massive upfront infrastructure investment and catch up rapidly in the digital era, according to industry white papers and public data from leading Chinese AI enterprises.

China’s AI cooperation also advances inclusive development and public welfare, helping narrow the global digital divide. China has carried out extensive digital technology training and capacity-building programs for partner countries. These programs cover AI agriculture, smart healthcare and cross-border e-commerce, supporting the growth of local digital industries.

Looking ahead, AI cooperation among the BRI partners will advance toward higher quality, sustainability and scalability. Token-based computing services are set to become a core growth engine. JP Morgan predicts in a report published in February that China’s AI token consumption will increase by a staggering 369 times by 2030, unlocking huge long-term cooperative potential.

China’s AI cooperation with its BRI partners has pioneered a win-win model for global digital governance that is affordable, adaptable and inclusive. By enabling developing nations to fully share in the dividends of AI progress, China also gains vital overseas market feedback that drives continuous technological iteration and industrial innovation.

Together, China and its BRI partners can build an open, inclusive and equitable global digital ecosystem, advance the integrated development of the global digital economy and promote shared prosperity for all countries in the digital age.

Liu Wen is an associate professor at Nanning Normal University and a PhD researcher at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Guan Zhongqi is a member of the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence.

The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.