Smart cities driven by artificial intelligence: Сomparing the strategic positioning and market competitiveness of China and the USA

Aim. The work aimed to compare systematically the differences in the strategic positioning of China and the USA in the development of smart cities driven by artificial intelligence (AI), and to study their impact on global market competitiveness.

Objectives. The work seeks to compare and analyze the differences in the strategic positioning of China and the USA in promoting the development of AI-driven smart cities, as well as assess how these strategic differences shape the competitive landscape in the global smart city market.

Methods. The author used a mixed research method, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, comparative analysis, calculations of indicators, statistical data induction, and literature analysis to compare systematically the strategic positioning and market competitiveness of China and the USA in the field of AI-driven smart cities.

Results. China employs a government-led top-down model, promoting pilot projects and infrastructure construction through national policy, emphasizing rapid technology implementation and the integration of all stages of the production chain. The United States of America is market-oriented, relying on the innovative capabilities of Silicon Valley technology companies and a public-private partnership model, focusing on technological originality and commercial applications.

Conclusions. The study results revealed that in the future, China, owing to its government-led, large-scale advantages, will be able to take a leading position in smart city infrastructure construction and advancement in emerging markets. While the USA, relying on a market-oriented innovation ecosystem and accumulated core technologies, will continue to dominate the high-tech market, maintaining superiority in fundamental AI research and high-value-added fields.

1. Oreglia E., Zheng W. The Digital Silk Road between national rhetoric and provincial ambitions. The China Quarterly. 2024;261:183-195. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741024000936

2. Ullah Z., Al-Turjman F., Mostarda L., Gagliardi R. Applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning in smart cities. Computer Communications. 2020;154:313-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.com-com.2020.02.069

3. Herath H.M.K.K.M.B., Mittal M. Adoption of artificial intelligence in smart cities: A comprehensive review. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights. 2022;2(1):100076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjimei.2022.100076

4. Luckey D., Fritz H., Legatiuk D., Dragos K., Smarsly K. Artificial intelligence techniques for smart city applications. In: Toledo Santos E., Scheer S., eds. Proc. 18th Int. conf. on computing in civil and building engineering (ICCCBE 2020). Cham: Springer; 2021:3-15. (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering. Vol. 98). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51295-8_1

5. Kubina M., Šulyová D., Vodák J. Managing global smart cities in an era of 21st century challenges. Sustainability. 2021;13(5):2610. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052610

6. Joss S., Sengers F., Schraven D., Caprotti F., Dayot Y. The smart city as global discourse: Storylines and critical junctures across 27 cities. Journal of Urban Technology. 2019;26(1):3-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2018.1558387

7. Huang K., Luo W., Zhang W., Li J. Characteristics and problems of smart city development in China. Smart Cities. 2021;4(4):1403-1419. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities4040074

8. Gu X. The illusion of “the clean network”. In: Structural power in the global age. Global power shift. Cham: Springer; 2022:123-131. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15467-6_13

9. Xie S., Luo N., Yarime M. Data governance for smart cities in China: The case of Shenzhen. Policy Design and Practice. 2024;7(1):66-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/25741292.2023.2297445

10. Hu R. The state of smart cities in China: The case of Shenzhen. Energies. 2019;12(22):4375. https://doi.org/10.3390/en12224375

11. Yigitcanlar T., Han H., Kamruzzaman M., Ioppolo G., Sabatini-Marques J. The making of smart cities: Are Songdo, Masdar, Amsterdam, San Francisco and Brisbane the best we could build? Land Use Policy. 2019;88:104187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104187

12. Lee J.H., Hancock M.G., Hu M.-C. Towards an effective framework for building smart cities: Lessons from Seoul and San Francisco. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2014;89:80-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.08.033

13. da Vinha L.M., Liang H. China vis-à-vis the EU: The competition for Africa’s smart cities. In: Li Y., Leandro F.J.B.S., Tavares da Silva J., Rodrigues C., eds. The Palgrave handbook on China-Europe-Africa relations. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan; 2024:211-231. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5640-7_10

14. Zhao M. The Belt and Road Initiative and China — US strategic competition. China International Strategy Review. 2021;3(1):248-260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42533-021-00087-7

15. Retzmann N. ‘Winning the technology competition’: Narratives, power comparisons and the US-China AI race. In: Müller T., ed. Comparisons in global security politics: Representing and ordering the world. Bristol: Bristol University Press; 2024:237-256. https://doi.org/10.51952/9781529241846.ch012

16. Caprotti F., Liu D. Platform urbanism and the Chinese smart city: The co-production and territorialisation of Hangzhou City Brain. GeoJournal. 2022;87(3):1559-1573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10320-2

17. Ching T.-Y., Ferreira J. Smart cities: Concepts, perceptions and lessons for planners. In: Geertman S., et al., eds. Planning support systems and smart cities. Cham: Springer; 2015:145-168. (Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18368-8_8

18. Marvin S., While A., Chen B., Kovacic M. Urban AI in China: Social control or hyper-capitalist development in the post-smart city? Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. 2022:4:1030318. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2022.1030318

19. Yan X., Huang M. Leveraging university research within the context of open innovation: The case of Huawei. Telecommunications Policy. 2022;46(2):101956. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2020.101956

20. Smart city data governance: Challenges and the way forward. Paris: OECD; 2023. 185 p. URL: https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2023/10/smart-city-data-governance_fc19e878/e57ce301-en.pdf (дата обращения: 28.08.2025).

21. Tu X., He Z., Huang Y., Zhang Z.-H., Yang M., Zhao J. An overview of large AI models and their applications. Visual Intelligence. 2024;2(1):34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44267-024-00065-8

22. Eight judgments and conclusions about unicorns. Tencent Research Institute. Oct. 30, 2023. URL: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/MfEiy3k3GPKyfzFhOnv-7g (accessed on 28.08.2025).

23. Hussain F., Hussain Z., Khan M.I., Imran A. The digital rise and its economic implications for China through the Digital Silk Road under the Belt and Road Initiative. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics. 2023;9(2):238-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911231174731

24. Sheng E.L. U.S.-China relations in Donald Trump’s Administration: The Belt and Road Initiative and the Thucydides trap. In: China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Triangle Great Game of contemporary international politics. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan; 2023:35-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7865-6_2