China pushes ahead in AI, chips, and infrastructure dominance

China is dominating in every technology that defines the modern world as the race with the US intensifies. 

According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s 2025 Critical Technology Tracker, China currently leads in seven out of eight AI categories, 13 out of 13 advanced materials and manufacturing technologies, and holds the top position across defence, space, robotics, and transportation. 

The report also shows China ahead in nine out of 10 energy technologies and five out of nine areas in biotechnology, genes, and vaccines, further cementing its image as a rising technological superpower.

However, what’s striking is how China pushes ahead in AI, chips, and infrastructure dominance despite having far fewer billionaires than the US. 

Unlike Silicon Valley, where private wealth drives innovation, Beijing’s state-led strategy places the Chinese Communist Party firmly in control. 

Entrepreneurs operate at the pleasure of the party, but that centralisation has accelerated everything from robotics to flying-car prototypes showcased recently at the 27th Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen.

Experts have argued that China pushes ahead in AI, chips, and infrastructure dominance not only because it has caught up to the West, but because the West may now be struggling to keep pace.