China has a major advantage when it comes to making advances in brain implants: a whole government approach that cuts through red tape. That is helping companies like Shanghai StairMed Technology make inroads against US players like Elon Musk’s Neuralink. “The US still holds the lead when it comes to full system-level development,” StairMed’s founder Zhengtuo Zhao told Bloomberg. “But we’re catching up quickly, and leading in some specific areas.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s goals are to establish several global leaders in this field and a comprehensive ecosystem by 2030. Agencies are playing their part, like the National Healthcare Security Administration, which laid out ways for reimbursing brain implant surgeries through its state insurance fund. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has cut the National Institutes of Health’s 2025 BRAIN Initiative budget by 20% compared to the previous year.