June 25 (Reuters) - OpenAI said on Wednesday its

analysts have seen notable progress by Chinese start-up Zhipu AI

in securing government contracts across several regions,

signaling China's growing momentum in pursuing global AI

leadership.

Zhipu AI, which is backed by the Chinese Communist Party,

aims to "lock Chinese systems and standards into emerging

markets before U.S. or European rivals can, while showcasing a

'responsible, transparent and audit-ready' Chinese AI

alternative," the ChatGPT maker said in its post.

The company provides AI solutions - including sovereign

large language model infrastructure and private hardware in

partnership with Huawei - to governments and state-owned

enterprises in Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and

Kenya.

The initiative forms part of China's broader effort to build

a self-sufficient, globally competitive AI ecosystem that rivals

the United States while reducing reliance on American

technology.

Zhipu AI, which did not immediately respond to a request for

comment, is supported by more than $1.4 billion in state

investment and maintains strong ties with the Chinese government

and state-owned entities, according to OpenAI.

In January, the company was added to the U.S. Commerce

Department's export control entity list, barring it from

procuring U.S. components.

Zhipu AI has been positioning itself among China's

leading AI firms alongside DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, and Minimax,

as well as tech giants ByteDance and Alibaba ( BABA ).

OpenAI has also built partnerships and attracted investment

across the Middle East and Asia. Its "OpenAI for Countries"

initiative helps interested governments develop "sovereign AI

capability" in coordination with the U.S. government.

The report comes as the U.S. and China engage in intense

competition in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, with both

nations vying for technological dominance.