China Approaches AI Diffusion as "Asian Tigers" Approached Economic Development

Among the differences between the U.S. and China frameworks for fostering widespread use of artificial intelligence are the roles of state sponsorship, which is in many ways similar to the state-led models for economic development followed in past decades by Japan, South Korea and Singapore, for example. 

Since at least the 1970s, the Asian Tiger economies (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong) have shared similar “state-led” approaches to economic growth, compared to the more market-led U.S. approach. 

Country	Key Period	Role of the State	Industrial Policy	Key Mechanisms of State Involvement	Outcomes
South Korea	1960s–1980s	Highly interventionist	Targeted heavy industries and tech sectors	- State-directed credit via national banks - Chaebol system fostered - Export targets and subsidies	Rapid industrialization; major global brands (Samsung, Hyundai); GDP per capita rose from ~$100s to ~$30k
Taiwan	1950s–1980s	Strong state direction with private sector support	Promoted SMEs; focused on tech and electronics	- State-owned firms in key sectors - Tech parks like Hsinchu - Export processing zones	Tech powerhouse (TSMC, Foxconn); transition to high-tech exports; equitable land reform promoted broad growth
Singapore	1965–present	State-capitalist model	Moved from labor-intensive to high-tech, biotech, finance	- GLCs (Temasek, GIC) played a major role - Strategic FDI attraction - Skills training via ITEs, polytechnics	Among world’s richest countries per capita; GLCs still key; high-quality infrastructure and education
Hong Kong	1950s–1997 (British rule)	Minimal intervention – laissez-faire	No formal industrial policy	- Low taxes - Free trade - Rule of law and strong institutions

We might see a similar approach in the way China approaches mass adoption of artificial intelligence technologies. 

Model	Financial Support	Infrastructure, Data Access	Regulatory, Strategic Support	Public Sector Adoption
DeepSeek (Hangzhou)	Indirect: Benefited from government-backed cloud platforms	Access to state-supported GPU clusters; open-source model strategy	Endorsed by local governments; integrated into national AI initiatives	Deployed in hospitals, local governments, and state-owned enterprises
Qwen (Alibaba Cloud)	Participated in Beijing's AGI Innovation Partnership Program	Utilized Alibaba Cloud's infrastructure; part of government-supported computing power initiatives	Received government approval for public release; aligned with national AI development goals	Integrated into Alibaba's consumer services; supports various enterprise applications
Ernie Bot (Baidu)	Not specified	Leveraged Baidu's infrastructure; part of national AI development efforts	Approved under China's generative AI regulations; contributes to national AI objectives	Claimed 200 million users; used in various public-facing services
Doubao 1.5 Pro (ByteDance)	Not specified	Utilized ByteDance's infrastructure; aligned with national AI strategies	Operates within China's regulatory framework for AI; contributes to national AI initiatives	Integrated into ByteDance's platforms; supports content creation and user engagement
Kimi k1.5 (Moonshot AI)	Not specified	Details not publicly available	Operates within China's regulatory framework for AI; contributes to national AI initiatives	Specific public sector adoption details not available
Xinghuo (iFlytek)	State-backed: iFlytek is partially state-owned; received government funding	Trained on Huawei's computing platform; aligned with national infrastructure goals	Designated as an "AI champion" by the government; operates within regulatory frameworks	Integrated into educational tools and public services; supports various government applications
ChatXiPT (Cyberspace Administration of China)	Fully government-funded	Developed using state resources; aligned with national infrastructure	Designed to promote Xi Jinping Thought; operates under strict regulatory oversight	Used for ideological education and public information dissemination