# 61% vs. 26%: The number behind the real US-China AI divide

https://mins.news/en/item/66717

- CGTN, 2026-09-21 02:50 UTC
- Tech
- Original: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-09-21/61-vs-26-The-number-behind-the-real-US-China-AI-divide-1QC06kjnCtG/p.html?UTM_Source=cgtn&UTM_Medium=rss&UTM_Campaign=China

> A RAND Corporation count of 1,181 U.S. and Chinese AI companies found that 61% of American firms are pure software businesses, compared with 26% of Chinese firms. The two industries use similar architectures and have comparable shares of foundation-model developers, but Chinese AI is more concentrated in manufacturing, transport and energy, while U.S. firms focus more on health care, research and cybersecurity.

## Related coverage

- [Inside China’s AI race](https://mins.news/en/video/65244) — Reuters, 2026-09-19