Reference Index · The Pipeline Series
64 Countries: Chinese AI Surveillance Technology
A country-by-country record of where Chinese surveillance technology has been deployed, which companies supplied it, and whether the recipient country has signed onto China's Belt and Road Initiative.
This reference index supports the claim made in The Laboratory that Chinese technology firms supply AI surveillance technology in 63 countries, 36 of which have signed onto China's Belt and Road Initiative. This index includes 64 entries — the original 63 plus the United States, which appears in the Carnegie data but was not counted in that headline figure.
Data is drawn directly from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace AI Global Surveillance (AIGS) Index, compiled by researcher Steven Feldstein using open-source reporting covering 2017–2019. The index records key companies per country — not a comprehensive supplier list. Actual deployment is likely broader than recorded here.
Chinese company names are highlighted in red. BRI status is noted where confirmed in the original index.
Showing 64 countries
| Country | Region | Regime Type | BRI | Key Companies (Chinese in red) |
|---|
Regime Classification Key
Regime classifications are drawn from Carnegie's composite score averaging Freedom House, EIU Democracy Index, and V-Dem datasets as of 2018–2019.
Methodology & Limitations
Primary source: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "The Global Expansion of AI Surveillance," Steven Feldstein, September 2019. Full index: carnegieendowment.org
Data period: Open-source reporting from 2017 to mid-2019. This index represents a documented floor, not a current ceiling. Deployments have expanded significantly since publication.
Company listings: The index records key or notable companies per country — not a complete supplier inventory. Hikvision in particular is noted by security researchers to sell into virtually every country globally; its absence from a row does not indicate absence of deployment.
BRI status: Belt and Road Initiative membership compiled from open-source reporting as of 2018, via Center for a New American Security. Membership has expanded since.
Note on the United States: The Carnegie index records Hikvision among key companies operating in the US at time of compilation. The federal government placed Hikvision on the Entity List in October 2019 — the same year as the index — and banned federal procurement under the NDAA. The FCC banned new sales and imports in November 2022. Both actions came after deployment, not before. This establishes sequence: deployment preceded restriction. Private sector use was not covered by the federal ban. The US row reflects documented presence at time of index, not current federal procurement status.
The presence of a company in a country indicates documented deployment — not a judgment about how that technology is being used.