Key Takeaways
Chinese AI model stocks surged in Hong Kong trading Monday after the US government's export ban on Anthropic's most advanced models created an opening for domestic rivals to capture market share.
Zhipu (02513.HK) jumped as much as 40% before paring gains to trade 37% higher by midday, after the company announced full public availability of its GLM-5.2 large language model across all subscription tiers — Lite, Pro, Max and team plans. The move came three days after the US Commerce Department ordered Anthropic to suspend access to Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for any foreign national, forcing the company to disable both models worldwide.
"The US export control action has created a vacuum at the high end of China's AI market that domestic players are now racing to fill," said Kevin Ip, an analyst tracking HK equities. "Zhipu's decision to fully open GLM-5.2 signals confidence that its technology can compete with what was lost."
Other Chinese AI model stocks also gained. MINIMAX-W (00100.HK) rose 2%, while Cambricon Technologies (06166.HK), a maker of AI chips, added 5%. The Hang Seng Tech Index traded higher as the AI sector broadly benefited from the narrative shift toward domestic self-sufficiency in artificial intelligence.
The US export directive, sent by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei at 5:21 PM ET on June 12, bars any foreign national — including Anthropic's own employees — from accessing the company's two most capable models. The government cited a potential jailbreak vulnerability, though Anthropic said it received only verbal evidence of what it described as a "narrow, non-universal" exploit. With no reliable way to screen foreign nationals from its user base, Anthropic pulled both models for all customers globally.
Zhipu's GLM-5.2 launch positions the Beijing-based company to absorb enterprise customers who had integrated Anthropic's models into their workflows over the three days Fable 5 and Mythos 5 were available. The company's Coding Plan, which targets developers building AI-powered applications, now offers GLM-5.2 across all pricing tiers — a direct bid to capture the developer exodus from Anthropic's ecosystem.
The broader Chinese AI sector has been preparing for this moment. Multiple domestic model makers have accelerated product releases in recent months, anticipating that escalating US-China technology tensions would eventually restrict access to frontier AI models. The Anthropic ban marks the first time the US government has used export controls to disable a commercial AI model worldwide, setting a precedent that could reshape competitive dynamics across the industry.
The rally in AI model stocks comes as Zhipu prepares for its next phase of growth following its Hong Kong listing earlier this year. The company's market capitalization has more than doubled since its IPO, reflecting investor appetite for Chinese AI companies that can demonstrate domestic alternatives to US frontier models.
For developers and enterprises that had already migrated to Claude Fable 5, the abrupt shutdown is a stark reminder of supply chain risk in AI. API calls to the disabled models now fail, forcing migration to older Claude models or alternative providers. Zhipu and other Chinese AI firms are positioning themselves as the natural beneficiaries of that migration.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
