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Bloomberg Intelligence reports that the US's lead in artificial intelligence over China has significantly narrowed due to improvements from Chinese labs like DeepSeek, which released V4.1 Flash in September. According to BI senior analyst Robert Lea, the performance gap between top American and Chinese AI models shrunk to just 3% by benchmark scores, down from about 9% in May and 15% earlier this year. This narrowing gap raises questions about the effectiveness of US export restrictions on technology aimed at curbing China’s AI advancement.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In recent months, US companies' lead in artificial intelligence over China has narrowed significantly according to Bloomberg Intelligence (BI). After the release of DeepSeek’s V4.1 Flash model in September, Chinese AI models now lag their American counterparts by only 3% on benchmark scores, down from around 9% in May and 15% earlier this year. This improvement is attributed to China's growing expertise in AI and its researchers’ ability to optimize models for domestic hardware, reducing reliance on foreign technology like Nvidia chips. BI analyst Robert Lea questions the effectiveness of US export restrictions aimed at curbing Chinese AI advancements, suggesting these measures may no longer be sufficient to maintain American tech dominance. This progress by China raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of US technological supremacy in AI.
Written for “AI Race Between US And China” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
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Leaning: leans left for article 56397 (medium confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-05
US lead in AI over China narrows after DeepSeek gains, Bloomberg Intelligence says
AI generated
American AI companies’ performance lead over China narrowed sharply in past months to a record low after labs such as DeepSeek gained ground, threatening US tech supremacy, according to Bloomberg Intelligence (BI).
uncertain
labs → narrow → Intelligence
Top Chinese models lag their US rivals by just 3% on benchmark scores after the September release of DeepSeek’s V4.1 Flash, BI senior analyst Robert Lea wrote in a report on Oct 5.
That is down from about 9% in May and 15% earlier in the year.
uncertain
That → lag → year
That improving performance spells further market share gains for Chinese contenders, he said.
asserted
he → improve → contenders
China’s ascent is a result of deepening AI expertise and its researchers’ ability to optimise their models for domestic hardware.
asserted
ascent → deepen → hardware
The gains raise questions about the usefulness of US export restrictions on technology such as Nvidia chips, intended to curtail Chinese AI advances and prevent the likes of Huawei Technologies from making progress with their own alternatives.
asserted
gains → raise → alternatives
The Asian country’s progress “casts further doubt on the long-term sustainability of US technological supremacy in AI,” Lea said.
asserted
Lea → cast → AI
The two superpowers are vying to dominate a technology that drives economic productivity, military leadership and global influence.
asserted
that → vie → productivity
China’s lower-cost AI models are bridging the gap with US rivals in user numbers just as Anthropic and OpenAI chase trillion-dollar valuations in stock market debuts, touting their superior capabilities.
asserted
Anthropic → bridge → capabilities
DeepSeek’s V4.1 Flash ranked sixth globally in September on LiveBench, making it the highest-ranked Chinese model since the startup broke ground with its reasoning model R1 in 2025.
asserted
startup → rank → 2025
LiveBench scores AI models based on their responses to and analysis of questions, puzzles or tasks, a process akin to gauging human IQ.
asserted
LiveBench → score → IQ
DeepSeek last recorded a LiveBench score of 81.1, below Anthropic’s best score of 83.4.
asserted
DeepSeek → record → 83.4
That means the DeepSeek model delivers “comparable performance” to leading AI systems from Anthropic and OpenAI, Lea said.
asserted
Lea → mean → Anthropic
Still, while the score gap has narrowed to just 3%, just three of the top 15 models as assessed by LiveBench were Chinese.
asserted
models → narrow → LiveBench
Such rankings shift, Lea cautioned, and it could be difficult to monetise regardless of leaderboard scores.
uncertain
it → shift → scores
Chinese models face increasing US regulatory scrutiny and even potential bans following allegations of model distillation.
asserted
models → face → distillation
The Chinese AI industry could remain unprofitable until 2030, Lea said.
uncertain
Lea → remain → 2030
A focus on low-margin token supply and a brutal price war may make it impossible for any firm to gain a competitive edge in a domestic market flooded with more than 1,100 large language models.
uncertain
firm → make → models
ByteDance’s Doubao is the frontrunner in AI app monetisation, while the chatbots of rivals DeepSeek and Tencent Holdings remain free, Lea said.
asserted
Lea → remain → DeepSeek
“Putting China’s AI sector on a sustainable profit footing will require a cooling of competitive pressures, an industry shakeout, and a more rational approach to pricing,” he said.
asserted
he → put → pricing
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