Chinese military’s AI attack chain lags foreign models: researchers

Chinese military AI models are lagging behind foreign counterparts, focusing mainly on auxiliary functions rather than direct combat applications. A July paper from researchers at the Armed Police Force Shandong Corps and the Engineering University of People’s Armed Police noted that offensive AI uses are still exploratory, with a significant performance gap compared to international large language models. This suggests that while China is investing in military AI, its practical combat integration is not as advanced as some external analyses might assume. For Asia, this points to a more nuanced reality in the regional military AI race. While China is a major player, its current capabilities in this specific domain are internally assessed as trailing. The focus on support functions could allow for rapid improvements in operational efficiency, but the slower development in offensive AI suggests a longer runway before these systems become a decisive factor in direct military engagements across the Indo-Pacific. The key thing to watch is how quickly China can bridge this reported performance gap in offensive AI applications.