China is seeing widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which distinguishes its public sentiment from the position in the United States. Chinese citizens use AI-based digital employees for government services, students instantly receive feedback on written assignments via photos, and hotel guests accept parcels using robots.
A survey conducted by Morgan Stanley on Monday showed that 80% of respondents in China used AI at least weekly, significantly exceeding the 54% figure in the US. While tech executives and researchers in the US call for slowing down AI development due to existential threats to humanity, the Chinese public remains relatively calm.
Xu Jinyuan, a 22-year-old business student from Beijing, stated that this technology was created to serve humanity and should be viewed not as a source of fear but as a means of increasing convenience in life. He also noted that the government is 'absolutely capable' of managing the associated risks.
Xu Jinyuan's comments reflect the views of several people interviewed by CNN this week, indicating a divergence in views on AI between Chinese and American societies, as well as different levels of trust in the ability of respective governments to handle potential threats.
Lian Ze Su, a senior analyst at the technology research firm Omdia, noted that in the US, there is a public perception that large corporations can evade accountability or scrutiny due to weak government oversight without whistleblowers. In contrast, in China, he believes there is strong public confidence that the government will intervene if a serious problem arises.
Analysts also cite differences in familiarity with AI, public discussion of the technology, and broader cultural and historical context as possible explanations for this divide. In a survey conducted by the marketing research firm Ipsos earlier this year, 83% of Chinese respondents found AI-based products or services exciting, compared to only 33% in the US.
Furthermore, a study by the consulting firm Edelman showed that 86% of respondents in China trust their government to take the right actions, compared to 39% in the US. A significant difference between the two nations lies in their political systems. While whistleblowing is common in the US and political debates often become convoluted, especially amid growing democratic polarization, China's vertical power structure allows the one-party state to set the agenda without open criticism.
Thanks to the widespread dissemination of AI, its commercial application, and robots, public acceptance of the technology has significantly increased in China. Shi Hongchao, a 51-year-old from Liaoning province in China, said that everyone he knows talks about AI or already uses it, and it seems almost unstoppable.
In China's highly competitive market, tech companies are actively releasing free AI chatbots and features integrated into existing applications. Technologies are being integrated into industries such as film production, e-commerce, and manufacturing. The benefits in productivity and convenience speak for themselves.
According to Poe Zhao, an analyst and founder of Hello China Tech, AI is primarily perceived by most Chinese people as a cheap product, and secondarily as a topic for discussion. When the technology appears as a useful, inexpensive service, people evaluate it based on what it brings them, not what it might do to them.
This sharply contrasts with the US, where industry leaders and researchers express serious concern over the rapid progress of AI and its potential existential risks. China, another AI superpower widely considered capable of competing with the US, is noticeably quiet on this issue.
Zhao notes that 'Chinese warnings are quieter and use different terminology. The dominant focus is on loss of operational control, abuse, and social upheaval, not human extinction.' China's head of intelligence, Chen Yixin, published an article last Sunday emphasizing the need to include AI as a strategic industry for the country's economic development while outlining the risks seen by Beijing.
Besides the usual risks associated with hostile actors using AI for cyberattacks, disinformation spread, and theft of state and corporate secrets, Chen also warned that the technology could destabilize society and threaten China's political security. He also mentioned risks related to the 'monopolistic practices' of certain countries—which is apparently a reference to the US regarding its export controls.
According to Zhao, instead of public debates and open letters about AI security threats, most AI governance in China happens behind the scenes through work by technical standards compliance firms, security assessments, and administrative submissions by authorities.
The development trajectories of Chinese AI companies also differ from those of their American counterparts, reflecting different priorities and constraints. Although Chinese AI labs have rapidly closed the gap with US leaders like Anthropic and OpenAI, their models still lag behind the most advanced American systems, partly due to limitations in computing power and capital.
Lian Wenfeng, founder of DeepSeek, reported in a leak at an investor conference in July that the biggest gap between Chinese and American AI labs is access to the most advanced AI processors—necessary for training models—due to restrictions from the US, as well as lower levels of capital investment.
Chinese AI companies are also more driven by commercial incentives for monetization and profit, which potentially makes them less focused on developments that might trigger extreme or existential risks. Su from Omdia observed: 'The US is truly pushing boundaries. In China, there might be less attention to cutting-edge functionality, but more attention to making AI more productive and commercial.'
China's technological progress has coincided with the country's rapid economic development and its rise on the world stage in recent decades. According to Su, as the country's AI industry became increasingly capable, many Chinese people began viewing the progress as further evidence of China's technological growth.
Su added: 'There is a very pro-AI culture in China. Technology has always been viewed as national pride.' This view contrasts with the US, where skepticism towards large corporations and the government is growing alongside opposition to AI data centers.
Over the past decade, Chinese technologies—from smartphones and electric vehicles to batteries and supercomputers—have increasingly competed with American counterparts, surpassing them in some areas. For many Chinese people, this history has generated an implicit expectation that new technology can bring both economic benefit and power. Grace Shao, a technical analyst and founder of the industry bulletin AI Proem, noted that the average person has seen the economic benefit, prosperity, and even simple convenience that the technology has brought them, leading to an unspoken assumption that AI can do the same.
Shao also added that Chinese people tend to trust the government regarding protection. The Communist Party has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to assert control over the country's most powerful enterprises. In 2020, Beijing launched a historic campaign to limit the power of major players in sectors such as technology, gaming, and education, wiping out company market values worth over $1.5 trillion.
'People have an ingrained belief that the government will once again act as a parental figure to establish frameworks and guidelines for this new technology,' concluded Shao. Shi from Liaoning is one such person. He believes that the benefits of AI still outweigh the concerns, and AI development should not be slowed down just because it carries risks. He argues: 'I think we should continue to invest more in AI and keep developing it. After all, restricting the technology doesn't mean it will stop developing. China is a great country. It has an even greater reason to prioritize AI development.'
