Data from a top global AI platform, OpenRouter, showed that API calls, or user visits, to Chinese large models began surpassing U.S. levels in February, highlighting China’s rising influence in the global AI ecosystem.
Chinese models occupy three of the top five spots globally by usage — MiniMax’s M2.5, Moonshot’s Kimi K2.5 and DeepSeek’s V3.2 — mainly driven by their high cost-performance, according to the platform.
After making a splash at CES Las Vegas in January, Chinese smart devices have once again seized the global spotlight this week at the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona — from Alibaba’s Qwen smart glasses making their overseas debut, to AI agent-integrated smartphones, and humanoid robots that offer companionship services.
