Open Models, Soft Power, and the Spectrum of U.S.-China Artificial Intelligence Competition
Owen Daniels, Hanna Dohmen · RAND Corporation eBooks · 2026
The U.S.-China competition in artificial intelligence (AI) has entered a new phase, and both countries have called for supporting open-source AI models and environments as a way to wield soft power. In this paper, the authors examine the diverging frameworks of each country's AI action plans, evaluate how AI developers in both countries are approaching open models to gain influence, and offer recommendations for U.S. policymakers.