Inside China’s AI power move

IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• How much China’s AI ecosystem has caught up with the US
• OpenAI’s lightweight version of its deep research tool

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Hi there,

I grew up thinking Chinese products were just OK – cheap, serviceable, maybe a little flimsy. And if we’re being honest, a lot of people (myself included) used to see China’s tech scene as more imitator than innovator.

But that story doesn’t quite hold anymore.

Just look at DeepSeek. In January, it dropped an open-source AI model with reasoning skills strong enough to shake up OpenAI, Meta, and Google – all while running on far fewer resources.

Two of the top 10 best-performing LLMs in the world now come from China. And instead of just playing catch-up, they’re now also defining the race.

This week’s Big Story maps out China’s AI ecosystem in full color. It’s a landscape where tech giants like Tencent and Alibaba pour billions into homegrown foundational models, while small startups like DeepSeek and Moonshot AI punch far above their weight.

Through his visual analysis, my colleague Duc shows just how rapidly China is closing the gap with the US in the AI race, and why it’s also time to update our old assumptions of China just playing the imitation game.

I also spoke with Ken Cheung, an early architect of Tencent’s music-streaming empire, to get a clearer perspective of how China’s tech ecosystem has evolved. He believes most people still misunderstand China, not because its tech sector hasn’t changed but because it’s changed faster than anyone expected.

Meanwhile, in this week’s Hot Take, I discuss why a lightweight version of ChatGPT’s deep research feature might be a step in the right direction for AI going forward.

— Glenn

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THE BIG STORY

Crouching tigers, hidden giants narrow China’s AI gap with US

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THE HOT TAKE

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DEEP READS

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FYI

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Asia’s top leaders converge to chart the future of growth, innovation, and resilience.

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