Why data may become China’s most durable advantage in the AI race

Beijing has identified that layer as a new strategic frontier, accelerating the buildout of a national ecosystem of Chinese-language data for artificial intelligence (AI). The push covers everything from foundational text corpora and high-quality training datasets to technical standards and governance frameworks.

Language data has emerged as a “more winnable” arena for China in the global AI race despite intensifying US restrictions

on advanced chips and technologies, analysts say, with continuing challenges over data scarcity, quality, standards and governance.

The efforts have also become increasingly visible in recent months.