April 01, 2026
China’s AI Is Spreading Fast. Here’s How to Stop the Security Risks
This article was originally published in War on the Rocks.
In late 2024, Chinese models accounted for one percent of global AI workloads. By the end of 2025, that figure had surged to 30 percent. Alibaba’s Qwen family now boasts over 700 million downloads, making it the world’s largest provider of “open-source” AI systems that are publicly released and capable of being downloaded and run locally.
The first problem is not about China, but about AI as a technology: It is incredibly difficult to audit the global supply chain for AI software.
A constellation of Chinese AI labs — DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax chief among them — are increasingly popular fixtures of a global, open-source marketplace, which is starting to power everything from Indian academic research to America’s most elite technology startups.
Read the full article in War on the Rocks.
More from CNAS
-
Video
Technology & National Security
Russia Ramps Up Drone War With New Launch MegabaseSatellite images show Russia building a major drone launch facility capable of deploying large numbers of jet-powered drones. Analyst Samuel Bendett explains the military impl...
By Samuel Bendett
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Sharper: Countering Cyber ThreatsAdvanced AI and quantum capabilities are increasing the cyber threat to critical systems, making the development of proper resilience and responses a national security imperat...
By Charles Horn & Cadence Barker
-
Podcast
Technology & National Security
Spies, Satellites & Startups: Intel in the Digital AgeDr. Anthony Vinci, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and the first Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Capabilities at the Nation...
By Anthony Vinci
-
Congressional Testimony
Technology & National Security
A.I. Is Lying to You. Here’s How to Fight Back.A recent study in the scientific journal Nature showed that A.I. dialogue is roughly four times as persuasive as traditional political ads....
By Anthony Vinci
