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China's AI Usage Overtakes US, Renminbi Hits Three-Year High as Domestic Models Lead Global Rankings
The baton in the global AI race is quietly changing hands. According to an update from Caixin on February 27, 2026, new data from OpenRouter, the world's largest API aggregation platform for AI models, shows that Chinese AI models have now surpassed their US counterparts in weekly usage—and the gap is widening.
Key Data: China Takes the Lead
Between February 16 and 22, Chinese AI models experienced a surge in usage:
Usage Spike: Weekly token consumption for Chinese models jumped to 5.16 trillion, climbing 127% over three weeks.
US Model Decline: In the same period, US model usage fell to 2.7 trillion tokens, roughly half of China's volume.
Global Dominance: Among the top five most-used models on the global platform, four are Chinese, reflecting deep adoption of domestic large-scale models within the developer community.
Diplomacy and Trade: China-Germany and China-US Contacts Heat Up
Meanwhile, trade and diplomatic channels are also showing positive momentum:
German Chancellor Visits Yujie Technology: On February 26, German Chancellor Merkel traveled to Hangzhou to tour Yujie Technology. She watched a boxing and dance performance by the "Wu BOT" robot—the same unit that appeared in the Spring Festival Gala. Yujie founder Wang Xingxing expressed a strong desire to deepen collaboration with German companies.
Ministry of Commerce on China-US Trade Talks: China is ready to work with the US to put the Busan meeting consensus into action, manage differences through equal dialogue, and keep bilateral trade relations stable.
Financial Trends: Yuan Strengthens Back to 6.8 Range
After the Spring Festival holiday, the renminbi has shown solid performance:
Three-Day Rally: The onshore and offshore yuan gained nearly 600 basis points against the US dollar over three trading sessions.
Three-Year High: The rate broke through the 6.83 level. While corporate forex conversion willingness has strengthened, no extreme surge in conversions has occurred yet.
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The baton in the global AI race is quietly changing hands. According to an update from
Key Data: China Takes the Lead
Between February 16 and 22, Chinese AI models experienced a surge in usage:
Usage Spike: Weekly token consumption for Chinese models jumped to 5.16 trillion, climbing 127% over three weeks.
US Model Decline: In the same period, US model usage fell to 2.7 trillion tokens, roughly half of China's volume.
Global Dominance: Among the top five most-used models on the global platform, four are Chinese, reflecting deep adoption of domestic large-scale models within the developer community.
Diplomacy and Trade: China-Germany and China-US Contacts Heat Up
Meanwhile, trade and diplomatic channels are also showing positive momentum:
German Chancellor Visits Yujie Technology: On February 26, German Chancellor Merkel traveled to Hangzhou to tour Yujie Technology. She watched a boxing and dance performance by the "Wu BOT" robot—the same unit that appeared in the Spring Festival Gala. Yujie founder Wang Xingxing expressed a strong desire to deepen collaboration with German companies.
Ministry of Commerce on China-US Trade Talks: China is ready to work with the US to put the Busan meeting consensus into action, manage differences through equal dialogue, and keep bilateral trade relations stable.
Financial Trends: Yuan Strengthens Back to 6.8 Range
After the Spring Festival holiday, the renminbi has shown solid performance:
Three-Day Rally: The onshore and offshore yuan gained nearly 600 basis points against the US dollar over three trading sessions.
Three-Year High: The rate broke through the 6.83 level. While corporate forex conversion willingness has strengthened, no extreme surge in conversions has occurred yet.
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