China’s drive toward self-reliance in AI: from chips to large language models 

On Tuesday, July 22, MERICS will hold an online presentation and discussion of the upcoming report "China’s drive toward self-reliance in AI: from chips to large language models". 

China sees AI as critical for national and economic security and is pursuing self-reliance across the technology stack. Beijing has made significant efforts to develop home-grown solutions from large language models like DeepSeek to machine learning frameworks used to build them and the semiconductors powering AI workloads. This drive has taken on renewed urgency in the face of U.S. export controls on advanced AI chips. 

The new MERICS report examines the progress China has made across these different layers, and the state’s methods in helping development. It explores China’s domestic inputs as well as the external dependencies such as foreign manufacturing equipment or access to the international open-source software community. The authors also point to implications for Europe across several dimensions (economic security, competitiveness, national security, geopolitics, and values). 

The report will be presented by the authors, MERICS Analyst Wendy Chang and MERICS Lead Analyst Rebecca Arcesati. Their research is part of the China Tech Observatory (CTO) project funded by Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

After the initial presentation, participants will be invited to ask questions and engage in the discussion. Please note that the meeting is confidential and by personal invitation only.