Should Businesses Consider Using Chinese AI Models?
ITPro, Thursday, September 3rd, 2026
Chinese models cost 60-90% less and perform well, but deployment location and audit controls decide the risk.
This analysis weighs enterprise use of Chinese models such as Kimi, Qwen, and DeepSeek, which offer strong capability at 60-90% lower cost than US alternatives.
Set against that are data privacy concerns, potential national security exposure, and governance complexity. The experts quoted suggest these models are workable for non-sensitive, general-purpose tasks when self-hosted and properly audited.
The recommended evaluation criteria are deployment location, data residency, and infrastructure control rather than a model's country of origin alone.
The conclusion is that Chinese models are a viable cost-conscious option provided security measures and compliance controls are actually in place.