This report does not constitute a rating action. The AI race is pitting China's state-led model against the U.S.'s market-driven approach amid growing concerns over the U.S. hyperscalers'massive spending plans. This is according to speakers on the AI panels at S&P Global Ratings'recent China Credit Spotlight conferences in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Who will win the race is far from certain. China shows advantages in government support and national coordination while the U.S. hyperscalers plan to invest vastly larger sums and have unimpeded access to cutting-edge technology. The different financing channels imply the two sides are constrained by different factors--China, by government excess, and the U.S. by market push-back. Among five key layers of the"AI tech stack"--power,
