China Dominates Global AI Research, Outpacing U.S. and EU in Publications and Patents

China has surged ahead in the rapidly expanding field of artificial intelligence (AI) research, despite U.S. restrictions on exporting key computing chips to its rival, a new report reveals. The analysis, conducted using the proprietary Dimensions database and released yesterday, highlights a dramatic increase in AI-related research papers over the past two decades. The number of such publications has exploded from fewer than 8,500 in 2000 to over 57,000 in 2024. Notably, China's contribution has catapulted from just 671 papers in 2000 to 23,695 in 2024, surpassing the combined output of the United States (6,378), the United Kingdom (2,747), and the European Union (10,055). Daniel Hook, CEO of Digital Science, the owner of the Dimensions database, underscores the shift in global AI research dynamics in his report titled "DeepSeek and the New Geopolitics of AI: China’s Ascent to Research Pre-eminence in AI." He writes, "U.S. influence in AI research is declining, with China now dominating." The competitive landscape in AI is not just a matter of scientific curiosity but holds profound geopolitical implications. Hook notes, "Whomever controls the best AI will hold a competitive advantage in a variety of fields," adding that the competition "is already fundamentally geopolitical in nature." One striking example of China's AI prowess is the success of the DeepSeek startup. DeepSeek's V3 large language model, launched in December 2024, achieved performance benchmarks comparable to those of U.S.-developed models, but at a significantly lower cost. This achievement challenges the prevailing notion that the U.S. is a decade ahead of China in AI technology. Moreover, the surge in AI research papers from China has translated into a surge in patent applications. In 2024, Chinese researchers filed 35,423 AI-related patent applications, far outpacing the combined total of 2,678 filed by researchers from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Japan, and South Korea. These patents represent a growing body of intellectual property that could further solidify China's position in the AI industry. The study also indicates that China's AI research is becoming more self-reliant. While U.S., U.K., and EU scientists have frequently collaborated with China-based researchers, Chinese authors have the lowest rate of international collaboration among the four regions. Hook observes, "China’s AI research capacity is increasingly less reliant on other countries while they form a reliance on China’s research base." This trend is expected to intensify as China’s cadre of AI researchers continues to grow and mature. Currently, China boasts about 30,000 AI researchers, including university-level students, compared to about 10,000 in the U.S. The Chinese AI community is also notably younger, which Hook suggests could lead to a wave of innovation. He states, "Given a young, vibrant, and highly educated, AI-literate workforce, we should anticipate significant advances from China in the coming years, similar to the success of DeepSeek." As these findings indicate, China's dominance in AI research and development is reshaping the global technological landscape, potentially altering the balance of power in various industries and geopolitical arenas.