Chinese government authorities have made urgent requests to various experts, including professors of Qinghua Universityto provide information on the implications of Generative AI technology, according to people familiar with the matter.
Large and ambitious Chinese technology companies start-up have rushed to deploy their own versions of AI chatbots and large language models (LLMs), as well as register them with the government, as part of efforts to keep US AI services away from the country’s more than 1 billion residents. Internet users.
In the first months after ChatGPT’s release, maintaining a walled garden approach to AI services was seen as China’s best strategy until domestic technology companies could develop products that competed effectively with those built by Western AI vendors.
Zhu, known for his early investments in the ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxingasked rhetorically: “How can I make money just by developing an LLM?” »
Fast forward to the second half of 2025, and expectations regarding the technical capabilities of Chinese AI companies and the LLM sector have changed.