Stanford HAI's 2026 AI Index shows China cut the U.S. lead in Arena scores. In March 2026, Claude Opus 4.6 led Dola‑Seed 2.0 by 2.7%. A 2.7% margin is a photo finish.
China outpaces the U.S. in publication citations (20.6% vs 12.6% in 2024) and in industrial robots (~295,000 vs 34,200). It also holds surplus compute capacity from expanded electricity infrastructure, while private investment lags.
