Global Times: "Cooperation Should Prevail Over Bilateral Control"
China's state-run media has described the success of its domestic artificial intelligence (AI) DeepSeek as a "failure of the U.S. administration's control over advanced technology targeting China." It also emphasized that "the issue should be resolved through cooperation rather than U.S.-China competition."
On the 29th, Yonhap News cited the Global Times, an English-language outlet affiliated with the People's Daily of China, reporting this content. An article from the previous day quoted Ma Zhihua, a Chinese telecommunications industry observer, saying, "The success of DeepSeek not only shows the failure of the Biden administration's four-year control over China's AI and computing power but also stimulated China to pioneer an independent path in AI development, achieving significant progress in autonomous AI advancement."
Ma Zhihua emphasized, "While the global AI community focuses on increasing computing power, China has pioneered a new path through optimization," adding, "It has opened a new approach that is cost-effective yet equally effective compared to other models."
Earlier, the Biden administration controlled the export of high-performance semiconductors to China by companies like Nvidia and AMD in 2022, citing risks that the Chinese military might repurpose advanced semiconductor products for military use. Subsequently, Nvidia was only allowed to export lower-spec chips to China, and DeepSeek reportedly developed its AI using these lower-spec chips.
DeepSeek released AI models 'DeepSeek-V3' and 'DeepSeek-R1,' which threaten leading U.S. models such as OpenAI, using relatively low-cost semiconductors and small-scale infrastructure. The R1 model is evaluated to have performance comparable to products from OpenAI, Meta, and Alphabet's Google. However, the development cost of this model is reported to be only $5.58 million, about one-tenth of the cost of existing models.
This model was launched alongside the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Trump emphasized that the release of DeepSeek's AI model "should serve as a wake-up call that the U.S. industry must focus to win in competition."
Ma Zhihua stated, "With the emergence of DeepSeek and the rapid development of China's AI industry, there is now greater potential for mutually complementary cooperation between China and the U.S.," adding, "Both countries can leverage their respective strengths to achieve more promising cooperation than ever before."
The Global Times added, "Industry observers note that while China and the U.S., as global AI leaders, compete in the AI industry, there is especially significant room for cooperation in AI governance."
Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping has invested billions of dollars in the advanced semiconductor sector as part of the 'Made In China 2025' strategy. According to foreign media reports, thanks to this support, China's semiconductor manufacturing capabilities have greatly improved. It has also helped China secure a leading position in the production of products such as electric vehicles, batteries, and solar panels.
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