This week on Inside the China Room with Jiang Jiang, I’m joined by Rui Ma — founder of Tech Buzz China and longtime tech analyst— to unpack what’s really happening inside China’s fast-moving AI ecosystem.
Rui just wrapped up a packed trip to China in late July, leading a delegation of AI founders and investors from Silicon Valley, Europe, and India. They visited the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, held private meetings with leading VCs, and met with a wide spectrum of companies — from tech giants like Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT), to unicorns and startups less than a year old.
Since China's “DeepSeek moment” earlier this year, global curiosity about its AI scene has only grown. In this episode, Rui shares what she saw on the ground: how China is approaching embodied intelligence, what international investors found surprising, where China’s AI strengths and weaknesses lie, and why the “energy problem” in China's AI sector may already be solved.
We also discuss Rui’s upcoming deep tech trip to China this September, her thoughts on China’s AI talent pool, fundraising environment, education system, and which cities are emerging as the next big AI hubs in China.
Highlights
06:21 - Robotics, embodied intelligence, and cost-effectiveness
11:56 - Energy is considered a solved problem in China's AI sector
13:35 - Comparing the U.S. and Chinese AI ecosystems
14:55 - Labor models in China’s AI firms
18:25 – Fundraising situation for AI industry in China
20:46 – AI education in China
24:34 – Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou ... competition for AI hub heating in China
27:51 – The real headache for Chinese AI companies
30:35 – Rui’s next China trip: four cities, deeper tech
35:08 – Who’s more likely to lead the AI future: China or Silicon Valley?
Recommendation:
Rui: The Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson
JJ: “硅谷AI妈妈” account running by Rui on Xiaohongshu
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Also available on 小宇宙 Xiaoyuzhou FM for listeners in China.
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