International influence in artificial intelligence serves as a pivotal benchmark for assessing a nation’s technological competitiveness. This study addresses the limitation that existing evaluation systems, constructed on traditional factors such as talent, data, and capital, struggle to effectively assess the critical dimensions of China’s international influence in artificial intelligence. It develops a China-specific evaluation framework incorporating multidimensional indicators. The methodology proceeds in three stages: a systematic review of global research trends on AI international influence; development of a hierarchical influence model integrating academic, technological, industrial, and organizational dimensions and design of a multi-tiered evaluation system featuring 4 primary indicators, 15 secondary indicators, and 44 tertiary indicators, with weights determined through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This framework provides quantitative tools for China to accurately position itself within the global AI landscape, enhances its discourse power and influence, and offers theoretical support for optimizing strategic layout and development paths in China’s AI domain.