DeepSeek in the spotlight as U.S.-China AI rivalry heats up

The annual Shanghai AI Forum was lively this week. China’s rising AI company DeepSeek and  U.S. President Donald Trump’s new AI plan drew major attention, underscoring the growing competition in artificial intelligence between China and the U.S. 

Thousands of entrepreneurs, tech executives, and government officials are descending on Shanghai this weekend for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) — China’s most prominent AI forum — at a critical moment in the intensifying tech rivalry between the U.S. and China.

At its heart is Beijing’s push to leapfrog the United States in artificial intelligence and link this key technology to its broader national ambitions. 

The conference, which was headlined in the past by tech luminaries such as Elon Musk and Jack Ma, follows just days after President Donald Trump signed the AI Action Plan, a sweeping initiative designed to solidify U.S. supremacy in the post-ChatGPT era.

However, China’s AI industry is gaining momentum on the other side of the Pacific. The emergence of DeepSeek, a homegrown AI company that stunned the global market earlier this year with a low-cost, high-performance model, has galvanized a new wave of innovation. Backed by giants like Alibaba and nimble startups such as Minimax, China’s AI ecosystem is racing to close the gap with leaders like OpenAI and Google.

DeepSeek in the spotlight as U.S.-China AI rivalry heats up

Although absent from official schedules, DeepSeek and its founder, Liang Wenfeng, are expected to dominate conversations at the event. The startup’s stripped-down model challenged the notion that cutting-edge AI requires billion-dollar investments in Nvidia chips and data centers.

After a flurry of attention and downloads earlier this year, momentum around DeepSeek has cooled, and observers are eagerly awaiting the debut of its follow-up model, DeepSeek R2. Media reports cite everything from technical delays to Liang’s perfectionist approach as reasons for the delay.

Even President Xi Jinping publicly praised DeepSeek’s achievements earlier this year — a rare move that underscored the company’s symbolic role in China’s AI push.

This year’s summit also takes place amid renewed U.S. pressure to outpace China in AI. President Trump’s latest executive orders ease regulations and bolster energy supply for AI data centers. “From this day forward, it’ll be a policy of the United States to do whatever it takes to lead the world in artificial intelligence,” he declared, with Nvidia’s Jensen Huang among the attendees.

Meanwhile, China sees narrowing margins. Analysts say it may now be only months behind the U.S. in AI development — a stark contrast to wider gaps in sectors like semiconductors.

Beijing’s ambitions are clear: make AI a $100 billion industry by 2030. At an April Politburo meeting, Xi urged breakthroughs in high-end chips and foundational AI research — echoing Trump’s sense of urgency.

China’s robot push and VC frenzy take center stage at WAIC

Humanoid robots will also take center stage. AI-powered machines from UBTech, Unitree, and AgiBot are expected to demonstrate significant capabilities. UBTech recently posted a video showing its Walker S2 robot swapping its battery—an edited clip that signaled ambition and progress.

With prices dipping below $10,000 for some models, Chinese firms aim for mass production and ecosystem dominance in a space where U.S. companies have yet to deliver commercially viable alternatives.

Morgan Stanley analyst Sheng Wong said they are targeting hundreds to thousands of units to be delivered this year.

Beyond technology, the summit doubles as a playground for venture capitalists and dealmakers. Chinese VC firms like Lightspeed China Partners and Monolith Management are raising more than $2 billion in new dollar-denominated funds, targeting global investors seeking exposure to the Chinese tech revival.

With over 70,000 square meters of exhibition space, hundreds of startups will pitch investors with live demos ranging from delivery drones to quirky smart devices like toilet paper dispensers.

China seizes global AI stage as U.S. firms step back

Unlike in 2024, when Tesla wowed crowds with its Cybertruck and Optimus robot, major U.S. companies are keeping a low profile this year. Missing from the speakers’ list is Elon Musk, though AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio is scheduled to attend.

Yet China is using the event to showcase its global plan. The High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance is a special session that aims to discuss ethical and responsible AI development.

Tom Nunlist of consultancy Trivium said that since 2018, China has used WAIC to stake its claim on global AI technical and political leadership. With the race to AI now neck and neck between the US and China, he noted that the play is more compelling than ever.

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