A survey conducted by the Maimai Gaopin Talent Think Tank reveals that the salary gap between Chinese AI engineers and their U.S. counterparts has significantly decreased, now standing at roughly twice the amount. In the United States, AI professionals typically work between 80 to 100 hours each week. In contrast, over two-thirds of Chinese AI professionals clock in fewer than 60 hours weekly. By September 2025, it's projected that the number of newly advertised AI-related job positions in China will surge by more than 11 times compared to the previous year. When it comes to ordinary programmers, the salary gap between China and the U.S. hovers around seven times. However, for AI engineer roles, this salary gap is notably smaller than the difference in the RMB-to-USD exchange rate, underscoring the cost-efficiency edge that Chinese AI engineers possess.
