Chinese SMEs outpace global rivals in AI adoption with government backing

Chinese companies hold a significant advantage in AI adoption, with small and medium-sized enterprises showing exceptional willingness to experiment with AI applications for business value. This edge stems from Beijing’s strategic positioning of AI as a national priority, creating market conditions that accelerate both innovation and productivity gains.

What you should know: Chinese businesses demonstrate a particularly aggressive approach to AI integration compared to their global counterparts.

• Small and medium-sized Chinese companies have been “very willing to try to capture value from AI adoption,” according to Guoli Chen, a strategy professor at INSEAD business school.
• The Chinese government’s designation of AI as a national strategic priority creates an environment where market forces can push initiatives and productivity improvements to unprecedented levels.

Why this matters: China’s coordinated approach to AI development represents a fundamentally different model from the largely market-driven adoption patterns seen in Western economies.

• When governments prioritize emerging technologies at the national level, it often creates cascading effects that accelerate business adoption and innovation cycles.
• The willingness of Chinese SMEs to experiment with AI applications could provide valuable insights into practical AI implementation strategies for businesses worldwide.

The big picture: China’s systematic approach to AI advancement demonstrates how national policy frameworks can influence corporate behavior and technological adoption rates.

• By making AI a strategic priority, Beijing has created conditions where market forces naturally align with government objectives, potentially accelerating the pace of AI integration across industries.
• This coordinated effort between policy and market dynamics may explain why Chinese companies appear more willing to take risks on AI implementations than their counterparts in other regions.