Chinese AI Models Gain Global Popularity as US Raises Security Concerns

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) models are becoming increasingly popular among businesses and developers around the world. Their growing use in 2026 is attracting attention in Washington, where US officials are closely watching China’s progress in AI.

Companies such as DeepSeek, Z.ai and Alibaba have introduced new AI models that have made significant improvements in areas such as coding and agent-based tasks. While leading US models continue to perform strongly on many benchmarks, Chinese models are gaining users by offering competitive performance at lower prices.

Chinese AI Models Gain Global Popularity as US Raises Security Concerns

Usage data shared with CNBC shows how quickly this trend has changed. On OpenRouter, Chinese AI models accounted for between 57% and 67% of tokens used during the week of September 14. This was a major increase from the 6% to 13% share recorded in February.

Chinese models have also gained ground on Vercel. Their share of usage reached 55% in August, compared with just 11% in January.

The OpenRouter figures cover companies in the United States, Europe and what the platform calls the Global South, which includes 82 countries across Asia, Africa and Central and South America. Vercel has not provided a geographical breakdown of its data.

Lower Prices Drive Adoption

Cost is one of the main reasons businesses are turning to Chinese AI models. Developers are increasingly using them for coding and other agentic tasks where they can provide strong results without the higher costs associated with some US models.

Peter Walker, head of insights at OpenRouter, said Chinese open-source models released this year can now handle advanced agentic tasks, particularly coding, in ways that were not possible with many Chinese models in late 2025.

Vercel’s head of agentic infrastructure, Harpreet Arora, also pointed to pricing as an important factor. He said businesses are more likely to choose a cheaper model once it reaches the required quality level for a particular task.

However, businesses have not completely moved away from US AI models. Companies continue to use leading US systems for more complex tasks where they want access to frontier-level capabilities.

Washington Watches China’s AI Expansion

The growing adoption of Chinese AI models has also increased scrutiny in the United States. Two US House committees are investigating the impact of the rising use of Chinese AI systems.

Washington has been trying to slow China’s access to advanced AI technology through export restrictions on high-end chips. The US has also raised concerns about Chinese companies potentially accessing Nvidia chips through overseas data centers.

Another issue is AI “distillation”, a technique in which a newer model learns from or imitates the capabilities of an existing model. US officials and policymakers are examining whether such methods could help Chinese companies make faster progress.

Daniel Remler, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said Chinese AI could create economic and security challenges for the United States. He also raised concerns that widespread adoption could increase China’s technological influence in other countries.

Global South Shows Strong Demand

Businesses in countries classified by OpenRouter as the Global South have recently been among the largest users of Chinese AI models.

The data shows that 67% of the tokens used by these companies on OpenRouter were associated with Chinese models. The United States accounts for around half of all tokens used on the platform.

Analysts expect Chinese AI models to attract further interest in regions where businesses and governments are looking for affordable and open AI systems.

Southeast Asia could see particularly strong adoption because of its economic and digital links with China. Other markets, including countries in Africa and Latin America, may also consider Chinese models as they look for lower-cost AI tools.

The trend shows that competition in the global AI industry is no longer based only on which models perform best. Price, accessibility, open-source availability, and regional technology relationships are also becoming important factors in determining which AI systems businesses choose.