China's generative AI user base surpasses 700 million, adoption rate exceeds 50%

At the 2026 China Internet Infrastructure Conference, the China Internet Network Information Center released a report showing that as of mid-2026, over 700 million users in China have adopted generative AI, with an adoption rate surpassing 50%. Intelligent question-answering remains the most common use case, with 76% of users relying on it for answers. Other popular applications include image and video processing (47.8%), text processing (37.6%), and meeting notes (32.5%). The report highlights a surge in AI assistant and productivity tool usage, with usage rates doubling. Over 38.7% of internet users purchased smart hardware in the past six months, with wearables and 3C products leading the market. In the computing infrastructure sector, China's intelligent computing power reached 2,185 EFLOPS, a 177% increase from the previous year. A fully domestic 100,000-card AI supercluster has also been launched, marking a new phase in national computing infrastructure. The report emphasizes China's growing leadership in AI, with domestic models and chips achieving global recognition. Over 1,255 AI-related investment deals occurred in the first half of 2026, surpassing the total of 2025. The government has also prioritized AI in agriculture and industry, with new models and policies driving widespread adoption.