China's generative AI users exceed 700 million in 2026

China's generative artificial intelligence user base surpassed 700 million in the first half of 2026, representing over 50% of the country's population. According to a report from the China Internet Network Information Center, the most common use for AI is information retrieval, utilized by 76% of users, followed by image and video processing (47.8%) and text processing (37.6%).

The nation is seeing rapid advancements in AI infrastructure and hardware. Computing power reached 2,185 EFLOPS, a 177% year-on-year increase, supported by the deployment of the first domestically produced AI supercluster featuring 100,000 accelerator cards. In the robotics sector, over 400 humanoid robot models were developed in the first half of the year, with annual production expected to exceed 100,000 units.

On the software side, Chinese companies such as DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Alibaba, and Zhipu are competing through open-source models and rapid commercial implementation. The report notes that Chinese teams developed the top six models in global usage rankings. Additionally, AI integration is expanding into industrial sectors like steel, power, and telecommunications, with over 30% of large-scale manufacturing enterprises now utilizing AI technologies.