In the ongoing global race for the next wave of technological innovation, AI has emerged as a central arena where countries vie for future advantages.
This shift contrasts with earlier megaprojects in the Chinese mainland—like aerospace and high-speed rail—that relied on concentrated scientific teams and top-down project management.
Rather than a single blueprint, the Chinese mainland’s AI ecosystem is unfolding through a distributed, multi-point approach marked by widespread experimentation, localized support mechanisms, and close integration with educational and research institutions.
This model not only reflects the rapid innovation cycles unique to AI technology but also underscores the Chinese mainland’s adaptive institutional environment, where local labs and research hubs can iterate quickly on new ideas.
As the global tech race intensifies, this experiment-driven path could define how the Chinese mainland secures a leading edge in the coming years.
Reference(s):
China's AI development: A distributed and experiment-driven path
cgtn.com
