The US and China, despite being seen as strong competitors in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, surprisingly collaborate on research more than one might expect. Recent analysis by WIRED has highlighted the cooperative efforts in AI research between the two nations by examining over 5,000 papers presented at the premier Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) conference.
Out of the total papers studied, 141 (approximately 3%) featured collaborations between US and Chinese authors. This trend appears to be stable, as seen in the 2024 data, which showed collaboration in 134 out of 4,497 papers. The study also explored how algorithms and models from one country are adapted and shared in the other, noting that the transformer architecture from Google appears in 292 papers authored by Chinese researchers. Additionally, Meta’s family of Llama models is referenced in 106 of these papers, and the popular large language model Qwen from Alibaba is included in 63 collaborative papers.
Jeffrey Ding, an assistant professor at George Washington University who studies the AI landscape in China, explained that this collaboration occurs regardless of political sentiments. “Whether policymakers on both sides like it or not, the US and Chinese AI ecosystems are inextricably enmeshed—and both benefit from the arrangement,” he stated.
The analysis not only reflects academic partnerships but also the longstanding relationships formed between researchers. Many Chinese researchers who study in the US maintain collaborative ties that endure beyond their academic tenure. Katherine Gorman, a spokesperson for NeurIPS, noted that the conference itself represents international collaboration, with partnerships between students and mentors continuing long after graduation.
As geopolitical tensions rise, highlighted by US politicians and tech executives expressing concerns about China’s advancements, the analysis serves as a reminder that both US and Chinese AI sectors stand to gain from collaboration. By working together, they can further innovate and shape the future of AI.
For more insights on how China is influencing global trends, check out the latest issue of WIRED.
