00:00:01
The rise of Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek
has taken the world by storm.
00:00:07
But it’s part of a wider trend:
00:00:08
Chinese apps are rising up
the charts around the world.
00:00:12
TikTok, CapCut, Shien, Temu – to name a few.
00:00:19
And it's not just on our phones.
00:00:20
China is becoming dominant
in many other areas of tech.
00:00:24
Look at cars.
00:00:25
It's overtaken the previous
epicenters of motoring,
00:00:28
selling more than any other country
thanks to hit electric car makers like BYD.
00:00:34
A lot of the success comes from China
being the world’s biggest battery maker now too.
00:00:39
And solar panels.
00:00:41
China is responsible for an estimated
80‑95% of the global supply chain.
00:00:48
By 2028 it’s predicted that 60% of the world’s
renewable energy will be generated in China.
00:00:55
In drones too China rules the skies.
00:00:58
Next time you hear that buzzing
above your head, there's a 70% chance
00:01:02
it's a DJI drone made in the city of Shenzhen.
00:01:05
Three of the world's top
ten drone makers are Chinese.
00:01:09
In the futuristic world of quantum computers,
00:01:12
Chinese scientists publish more
quantum-related research papers
00:01:16
annually than any other country.
00:01:18
And they're even ahead
of the general leaders, the US,
00:01:21
in some areas of quantum
computing development.
00:01:24
And it's the same picture in AI.
00:01:27
Chinese AI firms now issue
more patents than any other country.
00:01:31
And the rise of DeepSeek
shows it's capable of challenging
00:01:34
the dominant US giants with products too.
00:01:39
So how has China done all this?
00:01:41
Well, it's all part of a long term plan.
00:01:47
in 2015, the Chinese government
00:01:49
set out an ambitious project
called Made in China 2025.
00:01:53
It wanted to move away from being
the world's factory for low cost goods,
00:01:57
to a global tech leader responsible for
its own supply chain of cutting edge tech.
00:02:02
Made in China 2025 in my opinion
was largely very successful.
00:02:07
So in many industries China
is catching up with the leading edge,
00:02:11
and in some industries China is even leading.
00:02:13
Ev Cars, 5G, Batteries, Solar Energies.
00:02:20
Now, even in the AI, Gen AI,
China has become one of the players.
00:02:26
Across ten target technologies
00:02:28
the plan set out more than 250 mini goals.
00:02:32
And according to analysis
from South China Morning Post,
00:02:35
86% of them have been ticked off.
00:02:38
Some targets, like electric vehicles
and renewable energy production,
00:02:42
have far exceeded the targets.
00:02:44
South China Morning Post
is sometimes accused of being pro-China,
00:02:47
but Made in China 2025 has been hailed
a success by many other analysts too.
00:02:53
So how has China done it?
00:02:54
What China has been moderately successful,
00:02:57
and some would say incredibly successful at doing,
00:03:00
is using it’s sort of state backed capitalism system,
00:03:03
where by the governmnet really sets
a research agenda, sets a funding agenda.
00:03:08
Bringing foreign researchers
and enticing them to stay in China,
00:03:12
or at least to give their innovations
and ideas over to Chinese companies.
00:03:16
Requiring businesses
from outside of China
00:03:19
oftentimes to set up joint ventures
with Chinese ventures.
00:03:23
These are all sort of tools that China
has used to help achieve these ambitions.
00:03:32
According to US Congress research,
00:03:34
the Chinese government planned to raise
00:03:35
or spend US$ 1.5 trillion on grants
00:03:39
for research, development
or buying foreign companies.
00:03:42
According to the report, more than
US$ 627 billion had been spent by 2020.
00:03:49
Research centers sprung up in city hubs
centered around various technologies.
00:03:54
Also, the US and its allies have accused China
00:03:57
of shortcutting some of its tech innovation
00:03:59
by stealing intellectual property through hacking.
00:04:02
For example, US aircraft makers.
00:04:04
China has always denied this.
00:04:07
Made in China 2025 got so successful
that after just a few years
00:04:12
the government stopped using the term,
as it was antagonizing rivals.
00:04:16
But it was too late.
00:04:18
Over the years, the West have imposed
00:04:21
restrictions and sanctions on China
00:04:24
regarding sensitive technologies.
00:04:27
This huge external threat
has wakened up the Chinese
00:04:32
and kind of forced them
to pursue a self-sufficiency strategy
00:04:36
in this advanced technology.
00:04:38
There's an old saying in China:
“Life always finds its own way out”.
00:04:43
Huawei is a great example of this.
00:04:45
In around 2019 it was
top of the world in 5G equipment.
00:04:49
It had a huge market
share in mobile phones too.
00:04:52
All of that took a major hit, though, when the US
led widespread sanctions against the company,
00:04:56
citing national security concerns around spying.
00:05:00
Huawei's market share shrank
00:05:01
and it couldn't get the microchips
it needed to keep innovating.
00:05:06
But it pivoted into microchip manufacturing
00:05:09
and is now a major player in that too.
00:05:11
In 2023, it released a phone with a microchip
00:05:14
far beyond what the rest of the world
thought was possible for the company
00:05:18
or the country.
00:05:19
A similar situation happened
with the viral new chatbot DeepSeek.
00:05:23
The firm says it couldn't get the most
powerful chips to train its models,
00:05:26
so it says it made do with older ones
and innovated new techniques.
00:05:31
They built the impressive bot
so far less money with far less kit.
00:05:35
For the US it came as a shock.
00:05:37
DeepSeek, AI from a Chinese company
00:05:41
should be a wake up call for our industries
00:05:43
that we need to be laser-focused
and competing to win.
00:05:47
TikTok too has taken the West by surprise.
00:05:50
It's the first non-US social network
to succeed in the last ten years.
00:05:54
Its enormous success is under
the spotlight, though, and under threat
00:05:58
from potential intervention by the US
on national security grounds.
00:06:02
But Shein and Teemu are proving
worthy challengers in e-commerce now too.,
00:06:06
thanks to combining China's cheap goods
with innovative app technology.
00:06:11
But China hasn't succeeded in all its 2025 goals.
00:06:15
It's still years behind other countries
in chipmaking,
00:06:17
with progress set to get even worse
thanks to more sanctions and controls.
00:06:22
Plus, the US government
and private firms are throwing
00:06:24
hundreds of billions of dollars
into staying ahead in chip tech.
00:06:29
This increased research and development
funding is going to ensure
00:06:32
the United States leads the world
in the industries of the future.
00:06:36
And in January, the US celebrated
a commitment from tech giants
00:06:39
to invest a potential US$ 500 billion
into infrastructure for AI.
00:06:44
And it's all taking place
right here in America.
00:06:48
Other industrialised countries
like Germany and Japan
00:06:51
have also launched counter plans too.
00:06:53
But there’s no doubt a new high tech leader has emerged
00:06:57
with big ambitions,
00:06:58
deep pockets
00:06:59
and plenty of patience.
