China is preparing to launch a tsunami of domestic AI innovation, with more than 100 DeepSeek-like breakthroughs (more here) expected within the next 18 months, according to former PBOC Deputy Governor Zhu Min, as reported by Bloomberg. This development signals Beijing’s intent to rapidly close the technological gap ahead of the 2030s.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s “Annual Meeting of the New Champions” in Tianjin, China, Min told the audience that 100 DeepSeek-like breakthroughs “will fundamentally change the nature and the tech nature of the whole Chinese economy.”
The emergence of DeepSeek, a low-cost, powerful AI model, has fueled Chinese tech stocks and underscored China’s AI competitiveness despite U.S. restrictions on advanced chips and domestic macroeconomic headwinds. Bloomberg Economics projects high-tech’s contribution to China’s GDP could rise from 15% in 2024 to over 18% by 2026.
Traders are rotating into Chinese equities, with the Hang Seng Index surging 25% year-to-date, significantly outperforming the S&P 500, which is up just 3.3% and effectively flat in real terms. China stocks outperformed soon after DeepSeek’s launch in January.
Global Equities YTD Performance
A successful deployment of 100+ advanced AI systems modeled after high-performance DeepSeek would drastically accelerate China’s digital transformation across surveillance, industrial automation, finance, and, most importantly, defense.
China’s Hypersonic Missile
Min’s comments aren’t just about more efficient AI chatbots—they serve as a strategic signal from Beijing. The push for AI dominance is increasingly a vehicle for projecting national power as the world fractures into a dangerous bipolar state. With the U.S. and China locked in a zero-sum struggle over who will shape the global economic system of the 2030s (supply chains the U.S. must reclaim), this AI race is rapidly becoming the frontline of a broader power struggle—one that increasingly resembles a winner-takes-all contest for global supremacy.
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