(Yicai) Sept. 30 -- The ranks of generative artificial intelligence users in China surpassed 700 million in the first half, with AI adoption exceeding 50 percent, while all of the top six models on a mainstream global AI usage ranking were Chinese, according to a a new report.

Chatbot remained the most common use of genAI, the report published yesterday by the China Internet Network Information Center showed. Seventy-six percent of users said they use genAI for answers, while 48 percent use it to process images or videos, 38 percent for text processing, and 36 percent for work summaries, meeting minutes, or presentations. Usage of AI assistants and AI productivity tools more than doubled from a year earlier.

Smart hardware has also become an important channel for AI applications to reach consumers. In the past six months, 39 percent of Chinese internet users bought smart hardware online, including 20 percent who purchased wearable devices and 18 percent who bought 3C (computers, communications, and consumer) digital products such as smartphones and tablets.

Chinese companies including DeepSeek and Moonshot AI have released a number of open-source AI systems with trillions of parameters, while Chinese models are accelerating their adaptation to domestically developed AI chips, the report said.

The top six models on a mainstream global AI model usage ranking were developed by Chinese teams, it also pointed out. Public data from OpenRouter shows that Chinese AI systems, including Xiaomi’s MiMo-V2.5, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Tencent’s HY3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, and Z.AI’s GLM-5.2, ranked among the top in July.

AI applications now encompass industries such as steel, nonferrous metals, power, and telecoms, and have expanded into areas including product development, quality inspection, and customer service, according to the report.

More than 30 percent of Chinese manufacturers above a designated size had adopted AI technologies as of June, the report said. AI is being increasingly used across manufacturing processes, including research and development, production, quality inspection, and maintenance. China had more than 400 humanoid robot products in the first half, with full-year output expected to exceed 100,000 units, the report said.

China had 1,255 AI-related investment and financing deals in the six months ended June 30, equivalent to about 78 percent of the total for the whole of last year. The combined value reached about CNY250 billion (USD37.3 billion), or 182 percent of 2025’s figure, according to the report.

Editor: Tom Litting