Chinese AI models surge in global popularity — and Washington is worried

AI was a major focus as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met this week.

The most advanced U.S. models lead most benchmarks, but Chinese companies like DeepSeek, Z.ai and Alibaba have released new models with major performance gains in tasks such as coding.

According to usage data shared with CNBC, the global adoption of Chinese models by companies has increased substantially in 2026.

Chinese AI models have gone from a relatively small share of usage to a majority on two major developer platforms that provide gateways for companies to access models from different providers. On OpenRouter, they accounted for 57%-67% of tokens used in the week of Sept. 14, up from 6%-13% in February. On Vercel, their share rose to 55% in August from 11% in January.

OpenRouter's data related to companies in the U.S., Europe and what it defines as the "Global South" — 82 countries across Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. Vercel did not specify its data's geographical breakdown.

Concern is growing in Washington, where two U.S. House Committees are investigating the impact of rising adoption of Chinese models.

The U.S. has sought to preserve its AI lead by restricting Chinese AI companies from buying the most advanced chips through export controls.

Washington is concerned about them accessing Nvidia chips remotely, via overseas data centers, and gaining ground by using "distillation" where new models mimic older, more established ones.

watch now

Chinese AI represents "real economic and security risks for the United States," said Daniel Remler, a senior fellow in the technology and national security program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a think tank.

"The ultimate concern is that the integration of Chinese AI models pulls countries into a Chinese technology sphere of influence that hardens into geopolitical alignment," he told CNBC.

They're also "incredibly cost-effective compared to most models from American labs," he added.