Insight: China's AI Chip Challenge: Closing the Gap Without Cutting-Edge Manufacturing

Analysis explores whether China can build competitive AI accelerators as US‑China rivalry deepens and export controls limit access to advanced fabrication.

The global race for artificial intelligence dominance hinges on the capacity to access advanced AI accelerators. As US-China tensions escalate into an open technological rivalry, one question has become central to the contest: can China develop and manufacture AI chips capable of challenging American dominance, even as export controls tighten and access to the world's most advanced fabrication technology remains blocked? Our research suggests the answer is more nuanced and more consequential than most policymakers realize.