The benefits by Baidu - mirroring fast adoption by Chinese consumers - shows the parallel competition of tech giants on both continents as they produce AI-controlled devices implied to one day run everything from cars to homes to in-store shopping. Baidu, Google and Amazon did not quickly respond to requests for comment. US and Chinese tech giants have long jockeyed in the race to develop the most sophisticated phones, computers and other devices. Due to the nature of the companies, however, many of the brands have first targeted their domestic populations.

 

That's beginning to change. China has mobilised appreciable resource to enhance its dominance in high-tech fields as part of its 'Made in China 2025' strategy. Telecom giant Huawei, even though going through restrictions in the US, has been working to make inroads in Europe. Meanwhile, Amazon and Google have been pushing their devices - and specifically their smart speakers - more internationally, too.

 

While Amazon and Google work to grow their businesses globally, they will cope with technological troubles from differences as basic as the types of homes in which consumers live, says Michael Levin co-founder and partner at Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Although many US consumers live in homes, the international tendency towards living in apartments may prove difficult for the company's full home-control marketing strategy.

 

'Adapting this market to the other 80 per cent of the world is not a very straightforward proposition,' said Mr Levin. Baidu overtaking Google, while 'no small feat', is a result of the company's sole and aggressive focus on the fast-growing China market, said Jason Low, a senior analyst at Canalys. Google and Amazon have up to now focused heavily on the US, although their global market share is most likely to continue to multiply.

 

'It's a good gauge to see how the market is growing,' he added, saying the rankings are most likely to continue to be fluid. Baidu may also undertake further challenges as an economic slowdown in China could ding the company's core businesses.

 

It is as yet uncertain how the increasing trade war between the US and China will hurt the global smart speaker market, or the global economy generally. On Friday, President Donald Trump announced he would raise the rate of tariffs on Beijing and commanded that US companies quit doing business with China. Mr Trump said Monday that trade negotiations are set to resume, though details were elusive.

 

Experts say that the trade war is a lot more about technology than trade. In May, the Trump administration penalised Huawei by adding it to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security 'entity list', causing it to be difficult or impossible for the company to do business with any US firm. Huawei has since been granted a few 'temporary general licences' that allow it to conduct some business here, including providing software updates.

 

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