Europe’s policy options for AI in the midst of US-China strategic competition

What lessons can Europe learn from China’s AI strategy?

Time and location: 22 June 2026 16:30-18:00 (CEST) Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33 (4th floor), 1210 Brussels Registration is open to selected invitees.
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Format: Closed door, Chatham House Rule
Contact: Matilda Sevón

Speakers

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Check-in and coffee

16:00-16:30

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Presentation

16:30-16:40

Alicia García-Herrero, Bruegel Senior Fellow
Bertin Martens, Bruegel Senior Fellow

Presentation of “Europe needs a strategy to close the artificial intelligence compute gap” and “Stack battles: the US-China artificial-intelligence rivalry is moving beyond chips alone” (forthcoming)

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Comments

16:40-17:00

Kristy Loke, Research Fellow, MATS Research, UC Berkeley
Paul Triolo
Michele Pastore, Director Public Affairs, Huawei

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Roundtable discussion

17:00-18:00

China's catch-up story with the United States in AI is remarkable: from near-total tech dependence in 2015 to having developed domestic capabilities across almost the entire AI technology chain. However, gaps remain, including in model performance, compute capacity and hardware-software ecosystems. Will they be bridged? What lessons can Europe learn from China’s strategy and how should it position itself in this bipolar race?

Following a presentation of two papers by Alicia Garcia Herrero and Bertin Martens from Bruegel, we will hear perspectives from relevant businesses in the field.

Related research:

García-Herrero, A. and B. Martens (2026) 'Europe needs a strategy to close the artificial intelligence compute gap', Analysis 13/2026, Bruegel

A second paper is forthcoming.