---
type: xpost
source_url: https://x.com/DeRonin_/status/2071561335234531578
author: DeRonin (@DeRonin_)
date: 2026-06-29
posted_by: Pit Weber (@PWeber)
topic: "Tips & Tricks (Topic 27)"
tags: [xpost, chinese-models, cost-routing, barbell, model-swap, kimi, qwen, glm, mimo, wan, kling, cost-reduction, ai-stack]
---

# DeRonin: "My entire AI stack is now Chinese 🇨🇳 — 87% cheaper, same revenue"

**Source:** [X-Post by @DeRonin_](https://x.com/DeRonin_/status/2071561335234531578)
**Posted:** 2026-06-29
**Shared by:** Pit Weber in OME-Gruppe, Topic "Tips & Tricks" (Topic 27)

## Post Content

> "My entire AI stack is now Chinese 🇨🇳 — 87% cheaper, same revenue"

DeRonin documents a full swap from Western frontier models to Chinese alternatives across six task categories, with a 30-day outcome report.

## Model Swaps by Task

| # | Task | Western Model → Chinese Model | Benchmark Gap | Cost Factor |
|---|------|-------------------------------|---------------|-------------|
| 1 | Reasoning / Backend Brain | Claude Opus 4.8 → **Kimi K2.7** | ~8% | ~11× cheaper |
| 2 | Code Generation | GPT-5.5 → **Qwen 3.7 Max** | ~18% | ~7× cheaper |
| 3 | Agent Loops + Tool Calling | Claude Sonnet 4.7 → **GLM 5.2** | ~3% | ~5× cheaper (input) |
| 4 | Cheap Volume / Bulk Processing | GPT-5.5 mini → **MiMo V2.5** | ~6% | ~12× cheaper |
| 5 | Image Generation | GPT-Image-2 → **Wan 2.5** | ~5% | ~8× cheaper |
| 6 | Video Generation | Sora 2 → **Kling 3.0** | roughly equal | ~6× cheaper |

## 30-Day Result

- **Operating costs:** dropped 87%
- **Output quality:** dropped 4% average
- **Revenue:** unchanged
- **Full article with routing logic:** promised for tomorrow (2026-06-30)

## Engagement

- 2.5K+ likes
- 130K+ views

## Relevance to Our Setup

This post directly validates our **Barbell Model Routing** decision (MEMORY.md, 2026-06-28):
- We already run **GLM 5.2** as primary (Task 3 in DeRonin's stack)
- **Kimi K2.7** is available as subagent option (Task 1)
- **Qwen3 Coder** and **MiMo** are in our fallback chain (Tasks 2 & 4)
- The `skills/openclaw-model-router` skill implements the 5-tier routing that DeRonin describes empirically

DeRonin's post is the **practical field report** for what Miles Deutscher formalized as "Token Engineering" (barbell strategy: expensive planning → cheap execution → expensive verification) and what TheProphet described macro-economically as "China builds the factory for gods" (see [[../../wiki/concepts/llm/ai-intelligence-commoditization-thesis.md]]).

## Related Wiki Pages

- `wiki/concepts/llm/chinese-model-cost-routing.md` — Wiki page created from this source
- `wiki/concepts/llm/ai-intelligence-commoditization-thesis.md` — Macro-thesis (Frontier vs. Factory)
- `wiki/architecture/model-routing.md` — Our routing architecture
- `skills/openclaw-model-router/SKILL.md` — 5-tier routing skill