The Rise of DeepSeek Raises Tough Questions on U.S.-China Tech Policy

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash

The beginning of 2025 buzzed with China-related technology news.

First, the shutdown of TikTok triggered a mass migration of so-called “TikTok refugees” to another Chinese app, The Red Note, which quickly became the most downloaded app.

Then, DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, unveiled a large language model that outperformed its U.S. counterparts, yet was developed at a fraction of the cost.

The rapid succession of such headlines is unsettling. What will be the next? Perhaps China will unveil an AI model running entirely on Huawei chips, bypassing Nvidia altogether?

China is undoubtedly a formidable competitor, with its vast market, immense talent pool, and relentless work ethic. To slow it down, the U.S. has restricted its access to cutting-edge technology, particularly advanced semiconductors.

However, recent developments raise tough questions about whether these efforts are effective and worth the risks.

Yes, these policies have their risks. China has long relied heavily on U.S. technologies. While it may seem like they are taking advantage of us, an opposing yet equally valid view is that the…