For generations China has looked westwards to glimpse the future. Now it is increasingly the West that must look east. In industry after industry, from electric vehicles to telecoms, China is already setting the pace of innovation. But in one crucial technology, indeed probably the most crucial technology, America has hitherto claimed a clear lead: artificial intelligence.

But even that lead now seems increasingly uncertain. Chinese models are getting bigger and cleverer remarkably quickly—and America’s leading model-makers, as well as its government, are growing increasingly nervous. Within the past few weeks Chinese labs have released several, including DeepSeek V4-flash, Qwen3.8-Max and Kimi K3, that are just months behind the most advanced American AIs. All the while China’s tech titans spend less: they are forecast to invest under a tenth as much in data centres as their American counterparts in 2026.

In tomorrow’s episode of The Insider we will take stock of the AI race between the world’s two superpowers. I will be joined in the studio by Ed Carr, deputy editor; Corbin Duncan, correspondent who specialises in Chinese tech; and Archie Hall, acting economics editor and one of our most AI-pilled colleagues, to consider it all. Sarah Wu, our China correspondent, will beam in from Beijing to share insights from her on-the-ground reporting. There is a lot of loose commentary around China’s AI. I’m very excited to be able to speak to my colleagues who know first hand what is going on.

First I’ll ask Corbin and Archie just how good Chinese AI models are now, and how they compare with American ones. How have China’s labs got away with spending so much less for what appear to be comparable results? Chinese models are certainly cheaper, though there is disagreement about whether they are good value for money—I want to get their view on this. I’m also keen to hear about the other advantages China has in this race. While it has suffered from “compute constraint”—a shortage of chips caused by America’s restrictions on tech exports—it has far more electricity than America. As a result, Elon Musk told me in our recent conversation, there is a “good chance” China will become the leader on AI. I want to know if my colleagues agree with Mr Musk.

We’ll then hear from Sarah, who has been busy writing an illuminating briefing on how AI is affecting China’s workforce and economy. It’s packed with fascinating anecdotes from the country’s workers and bosses. I recommend you read it when it’s published tomorrow. She’ll tell us how AI is rapidly taking over jobs, from creating short-form videos to delivering food. I’m keen to understand how China’s demographic challenges play into this. Can the government mitigate them while managing public fear about the technology and the job losses it will bring? Sarah can also explain China’s distinctive approach to AI development. Alongside promoting the creation of increasingly sophisticated systems—the goal of many Silicon Valley firms—China’s Communist Party has made a priority of diffusing the technology through the economy.

Finally, we’ll look ahead. Will the future be dominated by America or China? Is it right to view this as a winner-takes-all race? We’ll hear from Ed about his view that this is a test not just of technical prowess but of two very different systems: American freewheeling capitalism v China’s state-directed sort. Which will cope better in the end?

As always, I invite you to get involved in the conversation. Vote in our poll below, and once you’ve done so, send any questions you’d like us to answer using the Q&A feature on the episode page. The episode will be available to watch from 6pm London time (1pm in New York) on Thursday. And if you have any feedback or ideas to share, please write to me here: insider@economist.com.