China’s open AI advantage may not last forever

China's strategy of offering open-weight AI models like Qwen and DeepSeek provides significant cost advantages and global influence, driven by factors such as low R&D costs, state capital, and infrastructure dominance. This open access currently benefits Indian startups, but the article predicts China will begin graduating restrictions around late 2028, influenced by internal consolidation, developer lock-in, and market saturation. India is advised to strategically leverage this open ecosystem, build model-agnostic architectures, focus on specific AI application areas (atmashakti), and engage diplomatically to shape open-weight norms.