Pulling Back the Curtain on China’s Military-Civil Fusion. How the PLA Mobilizes Civilian AI for Strategic Advantage (Cole McFaul, Sam Bresnick, and Daniel Chou – CSET)

China’s efforts to develop AI-related military capabilities have garnered significant interest in the United States. Drawing on 2,857 AI-related defense contract award notices published between January 2023 and December 2024, this report finds that while China’s legacy defense sector players lead AI-related military procurement, an emerging set of nontraditional vendors and research institutions appears to play a consequential role as well.

Pulling Back the Curtain on China’s Military-Civil Fusion | Center for Security and Emerging Technology