China Gains Ground in the AI Race, Narrowing U.S. Lead
Stanford’s 2026 AI index shows China now leads in AI research publications, citations, and industrial robots, and accounted for roughly 74% of 2024 AI patent grants, while the US still outpaces in private AI investment and narrowly leads in model performance (about a 2.7% edge as of March 2026). The result is a narrowing gap, with China gaining ground across core innovation metrics.